Born in Palmi near Reggio Calabria, Francesco Cilea gave early indication of an aptitude for music when at the age of four he heard a performance of Bellini's Norma and was greatly affected by it. He was sent to study music at the Conservatorio San Pietro a Maiella in Naples, where he quickly demonstrated his diligence and precocious talent, earning a gold medal from the Ministero della Pubblica Istruzione (Department of education).
At the end of his course of study at the Conservatorio San Pietro a Maiella in 1889, for his final examination he offered his opera Gina, which had a libretto by Enrico Golisciani, adapted from an old French play, Catherine, ou La Croix d'or by Baron Anne-Honoré-Joseph Duveyrier de Mélésville (1787—1865). This melodramma idilico was successfully performed in the college theatre, and it attracted the notice of the publishers Sonzogno, who arranged for a second production, at Florence, in 1892.
Sonzogno also then commissioned from Cilea La Tilda, a verismo opera in three short acts along the lines of Cavalleria Rusticana. With a libretto by Angelo Zanardini, La Tilda had a successful first performance in April 1892 at the Teatro Pagliano in Florence, and after performances in a number of Italian theatres, it arrived at the Vienna Exhibition on 24 September 1892, alongside other works from the firm of Sonzogno. The composer never showed much sympathy for this work, whose subject he reluctantly agreed to set to music in order to please Sonzogno and to avoid throwing away a rare professional opportunity. The loss of the orchestral score has prevented the modern revival of this work, whose fresh and catchy melodies can nevertheless be discovered in the transcription for voice and piano.
In 1897 (27 November), the Teatro Lirico in Milan saw the première of Cilea's third opera L'Arlesiana, based on the play by Alphonse Daudet, with a libretto by Leopoldo Marenco. From the cast there stood out the young Enrico Caruso, who performed with great success the 'Lamento di Federico', the romance which was to keep alive the memory of the opera even to the present day. In reality L'Arlesiana was a failure which Cilea, being convinced of the work's value, tried repeatedly to remedy, making drastic and detailed alterations throughout the remainder of his life. In the score which we hear today, it is hard to find a single bar which is completely unchanged from the original. The revised opera was however still not successful, apart from a brief period in the 1930s when it benefited from political support which the composer established through personal contact with Mussolini.
Again at the Teatro Lirico in Milan, in 1902 (6 November) the composer won an enthusiastic reception for Adriana Lecouvreur, a 4-act opera with a libretto by Arturo Colautti set in 18th century France and based upon a play by Eugène Scribe. Adriana Lecouvreur is the opera of Cilea which is best known to international audiences today, and it reveals the spontaneity of a melodic style drawn from the Neapolitan school combined with harmonic and tonal scoring influenced by recent examples of French music.
Cilea's last opera, premièred at La Scala in Milan in 1907 (15 April) under the baton of Arturo Toscanini, was 3-act tragedy Gloria, again with a libretto by Colautti, based on a play by Victorien Sardou. The opera was withdrawn after only two performances, and the failure of this work, even though the composer attempted a later revision, was enough to drive him to abandon the operatic stage for good. There are however indications of some later unfulfilled operatic projects, which survive as parts or sketches of libretti, such as Il ritorno dell'amore by Renato Simoni, Malena by Ettore Moschino, and La rosa di Pompei, also by Moschino (dated "Naples, 20 May 1924"). Some sources also refer to an opera of 1909, completed but never performed, called Il matrimonio selvaggio, but no copy of this survives and Cilea himself made no mention of it in his volumes of memoirs ("Ricordi").
The Calabrian composer continued however to compose chamber music, both vocal and instrumental, and symphonic music. In 1913 he produced a symphonic poem in honour of Giuseppe Verdi with verses by Sem Benelli, which was first performed at the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa. After this he devoted himself principally to education and became director of the Conservatorio Vincenzo Bellini in Palermo, and then the Conservatorio San Pietro a Maiella in Naples, where he ended his teaching career in 1936.
Cilea died on 20 November 1950 in Varazze, a town near Savona in Liguria which offered him honorary citizenship and where he spent the last years of his life. The Conservatorio di Musica and the Teatro Comunale of Reggio Calabria were renamed in his memory, and his native town of Palmi built for him a Mausoleum, decorated with scenes from the myth of Orpheus.
Works
Operas
* Gina (29 February 1889 Teatro Conservatorio S. Pietro alla Majella, Naples).
* La Tilda (7 April 1892 Teatro Pagliano, Florence).
* L'arlesiana (27 November 1897 Teatro Lirico, Milan).
* L'arlesiana [revision] (22 October 1898 Milan)
* Adriana Lecouvreur (6 November 1902 Teatro Lirico, Milan).
* Gloria (15 April 1907 Teatro alla Scala, Milan).
* L'Arlesiana [second revision] (1910)
* Gloria [rev] (1932)
* L'Arlesiana [third revision] (1937)
Other works
* Foglio d'album op. 41
* Gocce di rugiada
* L'arcolaio
* Melodia in fa maggiore
* Poema Sinfonico in onore di G. Verdi
* Romanza in la maggiore
* Sonata in re maggiore op. 38 per violoncello e pianoforte (1888)
* Valzer in re bemolle maggiore
L'arlesiana: Il lamento di Frederico
Francesco Cilea Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Il povero ragazzo voleva raccontarla
E s'addormì.
C'è nel sonno l'oblio.
Come l'invidio!
Anch'io vorrei dormir così,
nel sonno almen l'oblio trovar!
La pace sol cercando io vo'.
Ma ogni sforzo è vano.
Davanti ho sempre
di lei il dolce sembiante.
La pace tolta è solo a me.
Perché degg'io tanto penar?
Lei! Sempre lei mi parla al cor!
Fatale vision, mi lascia!
Mi fai tanto male! Ahimè!
The lyrics of 'Lamento di Federico' from Francesco Cilèa's opera 'L'arlesiana' narrate the story of Federico, a young shepherd who is deeply in love with a woman he cannot have. He sings about his sadness and despair caused by his unrequited love. The first line, "È la solita storia del pastore" means "It is the usual story of the shepherd", and is a pretty clear indication of how he feels. Despite his pain, Federico wishes he could forget her and find peace. He longs to be able to sleep and forget about his love in his dreams, but even in sleep, her image never leaves him.
The last two lines "Lei! Sempre lei mi parla al cor! Fatale vision, mi lascia! Mi fai tanto male! Ahimè!" translate to "She! Always she talks to my heart! Fatal vision, leave me! You hurt me so much! Alas!". Federico's love for this woman is so strong that he cannot escape her image in his mind, even though it brings him so much pain. The lyrics convey a deep sense of longing and the desire to escape from an unrequited love.
Line by Line Meaning
È la solita storia del pastore...
It's the same old story of a shepherd...
Il povero ragazzo voleva raccontarla
The poor boy wanted to tell it,
E s'addormì.
And fell asleep.
C'è nel sonno l'oblio.
In sleep, there is oblivion.
Come l'invidio!
How I envy that!
Anch'io vorrei dormir così,
I too wish to sleep like that,
nel sonno almen l'oblio trovar!
To at least find oblivion in sleep!
La pace sol cercando io vo'.
All I want is to find peace.
Vorrei poter tutto scordar!
I wish I could forget everything!
Ma ogni sforzo è vano.
But every effort is in vain.
Davanti ho sempre
I always have in front of me
di lei il dolce sembiante.
her sweet semblance.
La pace tolta è solo a me.
Peace has been taken away from me alone.
Perché degg'io tanto penar?
Why must I suffer so much?
Lei! Sempre lei mi parla al cor!
She! Always speaks to my heart!
Fatale vision, mi lascia!
Fatal vision, leave me!
Mi fai tanto male! Ahimè!
You hurt me so much! Alas!
Contributed by Evan V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@alexandrelegarrec2381
E' la solita storia del pastore...
Il povero ragazzo
Voleva raccontarla, e s'addormi.
C'è nel sonno l'oblio.
Come l'invidio!
Anch'io vorrei dormir cosi,
Nel sonno almeno l'oblio trovar!
La pace sot cercando io vò:
Vorrei poter tutto scordar.
Ma ogni sforzo è vano... Davanti
Ho sempre di lei il dolce sembiante!
La pace tolta è sempre a me...
Perché degg'io tanto penar?
Lei!... sempre mi paria at cor!
Fatale vision, mi lascia!
Mi fai tanto male!
Ahimè!
@yannickchambrier5591
C’est la meilleure interprétation que j’ai jamais entendue. Bravo Maestro. C’est le dernier ténor de grâce.
@robertasalatino7461
Meravigliosa interpretazione.,perfetta dizione Intensa.,grazie Maestro
@daviddanino8351
זה לטעמי הביצוע הכי יפה והכי מרגש.
@amaliacarocci8269
L Arlesiana di Cilea..grande Carreras..immenso..se non sbaglio siamo ne l 90 alle terme di Caracalla con i 3 tenori..spettacolo indimenticabile..grandi tutti e 3 e hanno cantato in 6 lingue..bravissimi..e anche in napoletano
@shodanart
Bravo! Jose Carreras. Past his prime he still delivers a passionate performance! Looking handsome and fit, the mezzo voce he floats along with tender pathos, Neapolitan embellishments genuine, and vibrato while showing the effect of many years of singing to my ear is still wonderful.
@francescolongo2490
Onore al grande maestro Francesco Cilea!! È grande anche chi canta meravigliosa voce!
@manuelodabashian1089
Absolutely wonderful!
@Niki16698
Bravo - magnifique!
@cospi39
É fantastico non si fosse ammalato sarebbe il Dio della lirica
@serenaluce
So beautiful! <3