84ⁱ. Il Tabarro

Sources Notes
TIME OF ORIGIN

Summer/autumn 1913 and October 1915 – November 1916 (for the later corrections and additions see NOTES).

PERFORMANCES

First performance: 14 December 1918 at the Metropolitan Opera, New York.
Cast: Luigi Montesanto (Michele), Giulio Crimi (Luigi), Claudia Muzio (Giorgetta), Alice Gentle (La Frugola); conductor: Roberto Moranzoni.

First performance in the presence of Puccini (first Italian performance): 11 January 1919 at the Teatro Costanzi, Rome.
Cast: Carlo Galeffi (Michele), Edoardo Di Giovanni (Luigi), Maria Labia (Giorgetta), Matilde Blanco Sadun (La Frugola); conductor: Gino Marinuzzi.

First performance of the revised version: 10 May 1919 at the Teatro della Pergola, Florence.
Cast: Anafesto Rossi (Michele), Edoardo Di Giovanni (Luigi), Ida Quaiatti (Giorgetta), Celeste Vornos (La Frugola); conductor: Gaetano Bavagnoli.

First performance of the definitive version: 28 January 1922 at the Teatro Costanzi, Rome.
Cast: José Segura Tallien (Michele), Antonio Cortis (Luigi), Mercedes Llopart (Giorgetta), Renata Pezzati (La Frugola); conductor: Vincenzo Bellezza.

First performance of the definitive version in the presence of Puccini: 29 January 1922 at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan.
Cast: Carlo Galeffi (Michele), Nino Piccaluga (Luigi), Augusta Concato (Giorgetta), Anna Gramegna (La Frugola); conductor: Ettore Panizza.

LIST OF CHARACTERS

Michele, padrone del barcone (Baritone) Luigi, scaricatore (Tenor)
Il Tinca, scaricatore (Tenor)
Talpa, scaricatore (Bass)
Giorgetta, moglie di Michele (Soprano)
La Frugola, moglie di Talpa (Mezzo-soprano)

Chorus: Soprano I, II, Tenor, Bass.

INSTRUMENTATION

Piccolo, 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, English horn, 2 Clarinets, Bass clarinet, 2 Bassoons, 4 Horns, 3 Trumpets, 3 Trombones, Bass trombone, Timpani, Drum, Triangle, Cymbals, Bass drum, Glockenspiel, Celesta, Harp, Strings; Backstage: Cornet, Automobile horn, Harp, Siren, Low Bell [Campana grave].

LITERATURE

Hopkinson 1968, 43-47; Gherardi 1977, 305-07; Leukel 1983; Schickling 1989, 276-93 and 301-24; Girardi 1995, 365-96; Fairtile 1996; Schickling 2000b; Budden 2002, 370-91.

Nota