62. Edgar
TIME OF ORIGIN
March 1885 – March 1889 (original version)
May – October 1889 (revision of the original version)
October – December 1891 (reworking into three-act version)
January – March 1905 (reworking into definitive version
PERFORMANCES
First performance: 21 April 1889 at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan.
Cast: Gregorio Gabrielesco (Edgar), Aurelia Cataneo (Fidelia), Romilda Pantaleoni (Tigrana), Antonio Magini-Coletti (Frank), Pio Marini (Gualtiero); conductor: Franco Faccio.
First performance of the revised version: 5 September 1891 at the Teatro del Giglio, Lucca.
Cast: Eugenio Durot (Edgar), Luisa Gilboni (Fidelia), Emma Zilli (Tigrana), Cesare Cioni (Frank), Pio Marini (Gualtiero); conductor: Vittorio Vanzo.
First performance of the three-act version: 28 January 1892 at the Teatro Comunale, Ferrara.
Cast: Oreste Emiliani (Edgar), Teresa Maragliano (Fidelia), Amedea Santarelli (Tigrana), Innocente De Anna (Frank), Faustino Ratti (Gualtiero); conductor: Carlo Carignani.
First performance of the revised three-act version: 19 March 1892 at the Teatro Real, Madrid.
Cast: Francesco Tamagno (Edgar), Eva Tetrazzini (Fidelia), Giuseppina Pasqua (Tigrana), Ignacio Tabujo (Frank), Martìn Verdaguer (Gualtiero); conductor: Luigi Mancinelli.
First performance of the definitive version: 8 July 1905 at the Teatro de la Ópera, Buenos Aires.
Cast: Giovanni Zenatello (Edgar), Rina Giachetti (Fidelia), Giannina Russ (Tigrana), Enrico Nani (Frank), Remo Ercolani (Gualtiero); conductor: Leopoldo Mugnone.
CAST
Fidelia (Soprano)
Tigrana (Mezzo-Soprano)
Edgar (Tenor)
Frank (Baritone)
Gualtiero, padre di Frank e di Fidelia (Bass)
Chorus: Children, Soprano I, II, III, Tenor I, II, Bass I, II.
INSTRUMENTATION
Piccolo, 2 Flutes, 2 Oboes, English horn, 2 Clarinets, Bass clarinet, 2 Bassoons, 4 Horns, 3 Trumpets, 3 Trombones, Bass trombone, Timpani, Bass drum, Cymbals, Triangle, Tam-tam, Carillon, Bell, 4 Drums, Timbrel (little bells) [campanelli], Harp, Organ, Strings; 8 Trumpets on stage.
LITERATURE
Arrighi 1957; Approdo musicale 1959; Hopkinson 1968, pp. 5-7; Magri 1974, pp. 314-16, 319-21, 341-43; Nicolaisen 1977, pp. 293-97; Martinotti 1977; Gherardi 1977, pp. 275-81; Schickling 1989, pp. 66-81; Francesco Cesari in Quaderni 1992, pp. 83-108; Michael Elphinstone in Quaderni 1992, pp. 109-13; Michael Elphinstone in Companion 1994, pp. 91-110; Cesari 1993; Cesari 1994; Francesco Cesari in Biagi Ravenni and Gianturco 1997; Fairtile 1996; Budden 2002, pp. 58-86.