Ravel’s Puccini’s

and

The School District of Philadelphia

OperaPennsylvania’s standards in education call for students to show what they know and

are able to do and children need to share what they have discovered or learned. Thus, the titleof our program is Sounds of Learning™. It reflects our belief that children must be activelyengaged in sharing ideas.

The Sounds of Learning™ workbook and teacher guide will integrate with local coreliteracy curriculum in many ways. Just as opera is a uniquely integrated art, combiningorchestra, voice, literature, drama, and dance, Sounds of Learning™ is an interdisciplinaryand student-centered program. The goal of the Active Learning sections is to have your children engaged in the process of self-teaching. They will be able to show how they havegained insights into their learning by drawing, writing, and discussing the issues most relevant to them. In this way, students demonstrate what they can do with what they know.

We believe the family is the most important foundation to learning. Let your kitchentable become a classroom where your children can build their knowledge of opera and thehumanities. As you join in the teaching and learning process with your children, watch theireyes sparkle. Opera is a communal celebration, so too should be your children’s education.

In reading the libretto, we suggest that you and your family members take turns reading particular roles. Dr. Ellen Winner of Harvard’s Project Zero found that: “drama helpsto build verbal skills that transfer to new materials;” helps students in “reading readiness andachievement;” and “oral and written language development.” (Journal of Aesthetic Education,

v34, #3/4, Fall/Winter, 2000.)

In preparing for the opera, we suggest you purchase one of EMI’s excellent audio orvideo recordings of this opera. We are grateful to EMI for offering us their libretti for use in ourprogram. Together, we hope to build future audiences for, and performers of, the arts.

Goals and Objectives of Sounds of Learning™• Improve literacy rates by using the opera’s libretto to teach courses across the curriculum• Understand the plot, characters, and their motivations• Learn something about the composer, and others involved in writing the opera• Know something of the historic and social context of the story• Know some key musical elements, recognize certain melodies, differentiate between voices• Understand the role music plays by expressing emotions and heightening the dramatic

experience• Understand the various elements of producing opera and the functions of those involved;

e.g. conductor, director, set designer, technical crew, etc.• Develop the ability to make judgments about the opera, production, and performance.• Relate incidents in the opera to those of the present day

Best Practices in Arts Education is sponsored

by Pennsylvania Alliance for Arts Education,

Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and

the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

A Family Guide to

Contents Opera 101: Getting Ready for the Opera

2 A Brief History of Western Opera4 Philadelphia’s Academy of Music5 Opera Etiquette 1016 There’s a Place for You at Settlement Music School7 Opera - Online!

Relating Opera to History: The Culture Connection8 The Man Behind the Music: Giacomo Puccini9 French Impressionist Maurice Ravel

10 What in the World? A Timeline of Important Events12 Making Magic Onstage14 Seeing between the Lines: The Impressionists

Libretto15 L’enfant/Schicchi Plot Synopses16 L’enfant et les sortilèges Libretto24 Gianni Schicchi Libretto

Lessons37 Devilish Inspiration: Dante’s Divine Comedy38 Who was Gianni Schicchi?

Glossary 39

Table

of

Check out our website for additional content! Here you’ll find more informationon the opera, its themes, lessons, and links to even more fascinating material.See page 7 for more details.

A Brief History of

Western OperaThese early operas were

performed in the courts of Italiannoblemen, but soon opera becamepopular with the general public.Europe at the time had a growing middle class witha taste for spectacular entertainment.

As opera’s popularity grew, so did the complexity of operas and the level of spectacle. Manyopera houses had elaborate machinery that could beused to create special effects such as flying actorsand crumbling buildings. There was much debateabout whether an excess of visual elements in operadetracted from the quality of the music and drama.Some people even worried that too much comedy inopera could lead to immorality among the public!

During the period from about 1600 to 1750,the Baroque period in music, Italian opera spreadacross Europe. In fact the Italian style of opera wasso popular that even though other countries andregions often had their own traditions of musicaldrama, the Italian form was usually preferred.George Frederick Handel was a German-born composer who lived and worked in England, but hisoperas such as Julius Caesar (1724) were in theItalian language and used an Italian style of music.The only nation to develop a national tradition to

2

In its 400-year history each opera has beenshaped by the times in which it was created and tells us much about those who participated in the art form as writers, composers, performers, and audience members.

The first works to be called operas were created in Italy at the end of the sixteenth century.They were inspired by a group of intellectuals knownas the Camerata who, like many thinkers of theirtime in the late Renaissance, admired the culture ofthe ancient Greeks. They proposed the invention ofa new type of musical theater that would imitateGreek drama’s use of music.

The result was a series of operas based onGreek myths, starting with Dafne by Jacopo Peri in1598. The most famous work of this early period isClaudio Monteverdi’s Orfeo (1607), based on themyth of Orpheus. These early operas had all thebasic elements that we associate with opera today,including songs, instrumental accompaniments,dance, costumes, and scenery.

Claudio Monteverdi1567-1643

Theatrical performances that use music, song and danceto tell a story can be found in many cultures. Opera isjust one example of music drama.

A tense scene from Act II of Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro. (l-r: bass Richard Bernstein, baritone Simone Alberghini

and sopranos Christine Brandes and Mary Dunleavy.)

rival the Italian was France, where operas oftenincluded ballets inserted into the story. Jean-

Baptiste Lully and Jean-Philippe Rameau are themost famous French Baroque opera composers.

By the middle of the seventeenth centuryEurope was changing. The growing middle class wasmore influential than ever, and people were startingto talk about new forms of government and organization in society. Soon the American andFrench Revolutions (1776 and 1789) would seek toestablish the first modern democracies.

Music was changing, too. Composers abandoned the Baroque era’s complicated musicalstyle and began to write simpler music with moreexpressive melodies. Opera composers could writemelodies that allowed characters to express theirthoughts and feelings more believably. One of thefirst operas to use this new style was Cristoph

Willibald Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice (1762).

With the new democratic sentiments came interest in operas about common people in familiar settings, rather than stories from ancient mythology.A good example is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s

The Marriage of Figaro (1786), in which a servant outsmarts a count. Several of Mozart’s operasremain among the most popular today. They includeFigaro, Don Giovanni (1788), Così fan tutte (1790),and The Magic Flute (1791).

In the nineteenth century operas continued togrow more diverse in their subject matter, forms, and national styles. The Italian tradition continued in the bel canto movement. Operas written in thisstyle, which means “beautiful singing”, includedarias with intricate ornamentation, or combinationsof fast notes, in the melodies. The most famous bel

canto composers are Vincenzo Bellini, Gaetano

Donizetti and Gioacchino Rossini, whose The

Barber of Seville (1816) is one of the most belovedcomic operas.

3

Wolfgang AmadeusMozart1756-1791

Later in the century the Romantic Movementled many composers to take an interest their national identities. As a result, operas in languagesother than Italian became more common, and newworks often reflected pride in a country’s people,history and folklore. Among the operas that showthe growth of national traditions are Carl Maria von

Weber’s Der Freischütz (Germany, 1821), Mikhail

Glinka’s Ruslan and Lyudmilla (Russia, 1842) andGeorges Bizet’s Carmen (France, 1875). In ItalyGiuseppe Verdi composed in a bold, direct style,and his operas, such as Nabucco and Macbeth, oftenincluded elements of nationalism. In GermanyRichard Wagner took the Romantic style to theextreme in an ambitious series of operas known collectively as The Ring of the Nibelung (1876) basedon Norse mythology.

In the twentieth century opera became evenmore diversified and experimental, to the point thatit sometimes became difficult to distinguish it fromother forms of musical theater. Some composerssuch as Giacomo Puccini (La bohème, 1896),Claude Debussy (Pelléas et Mélisande, 1902),Richard Strauss (Salome, 1905), and Benjamin

Britten (Peter Grimes, 1945) continued to writeoperas that were similar in many ways to those ofthe nineteenth century. Others, horrified by thedestructive effects of World War I (1914-1919) andother aspects of modern life, created works with radically experimental and dissonant music. Theseoperas often explored topics that were either disturbing (Wozzeck by Alban Berg, 1925) or absurdist (The Rake’s Progress by Igor Stravinsky,

1951). American opera also came into its own in thiscentury, beginning with George Gershwin’s Porgy

and Bess (1935) which incorporated jazz and bluesstyles of music. In the latter part of the century arepetitive and hypnotic style known as minimalismwas exemplified in Phillip Glass’s Einstein on the

Beach (1976), a piece that would hardly be recognized as an opera by earlier standards. The latetwentieth century even saw a return to some of thetraits of Romantic opera in works such as John

Corigliano’s The Ghosts of Versailles (1991).

Today, opera is a living art form in which bothnew works and those by composers of the past con-tinue to be performed. It remains to be seen whatthe future of opera will be, but if history is any indication, it will be shaped by the creativity oflibrettists, composers and other artists respondingthe changing times in which they live.

Bass Kevin Glavin gets a close shave from baritone

Roberto DeCandia in Rossini’s The Barber of Seville.

4

Philadelphia’s

Academy of MusicYou will attend the opera at Philadelphia’s

Academy of Music, the country’s oldest grand operahouse still used for its original purpose - performingopera! It is a very grand opera house with a hugechandelier and four levels. Its design was based onthe famous La Scala opera house in Milan, Italy.

Finding the money to build an opera house inPhiladelphia was difficult, but enough money wasraised by 1854. On October 13th a plot of land wasbought on the corner of Broad and Locust Streets tobuild the opera house.

Fifteen architects entered a competition to seewho would design the Academy in the fall of 1854.On February 12, 1855 Gustav Rungé and Napoleon

le Brun won the contest, which included a $400prize. Within four months the ground-breaking tookplace. The project was so important that President

Franklin Pierce, along with the governor andmayor, laid the cornerstone on July 26, 1855.

The Academy opened on January 26, 1857with a Grand Ball and Promenade Concert. The firstopera presented in the brand new opera house wasGiuseppe Verdi’s Il trovatore on February 25,1857. Charles Gounod’s opera Faust had itsAmerican premiere here on November 18, 1863. OnFebruary 14, 1907, Madama Butterfly premieredto “emphatic success” with its composer, Giacomo

Puccini, in attendance.

Numerous presidents have visited theAcademy, including Ulysses S. Grant, Theodore

Roosevelt, and Richard Nixon. Prince Charles of

Wales visited the Academy in 2007. Thousands ofworld-famous performers have appeared on itsstage, such as Peter Tchaikovsky, Sergei

Rachmaninoff, George Gershwin, Igor Stravinsky,

Arturo Toscanini, Marian Anderson, Maria Callas,

and Luciano Pavarotti.

The Academy was made a Registered NationalHistoric Landmark in 1963. Since then, a fewchanges have been made to the structure. The“Twenty-First Century Project”, begun in 1996,replaced the stage floor, rigging system, and restoredthe historic ceiling. During 2008 the famous chandelier was rebuilt to how it looked in 1857. Allof these renovations have helped the Academyremain as grand as ever. We hope you find it grandas well!

Academy Facts› The auditorium seats 2,897; 14 columns support the Academy’s tiers; and the auditorium is encased within a threefoot thick solid brick wall.

› The Academy Chandelier is 25 feet high, 50 feet in circumference, almost 17 feet in diameter, and 3,500 poundsin weight. It has 23,000 crystals on it, which, if laid out, couldreach from Broad Street to Rittenhouse Square and back.

› The red and gold pattern on the Academy’s stage curtain simulates that of a pineapple, a Victorian-era symbolfor “welcome.”

› The first-ever indoor football game was held on theAcademy’s Parquet level on March 7, 1889 betweenUniversity of Pennsylvania and Riverton Club of Princeton. Athalftime, tug-of-war matches were held as entertainment.

› 1,600 people attended the first ever motion picture screening on February 5, 1870. The audience saw a coupledancing, a gymnastics routine and more during the silent film.

› Air conditioning was installed in the theatre 1959.

› There was no elevator for the general public in the Academy until 1990!

For more information on the Academy of Music, go to thelibrary and take out Within These Walls, by John FrancisMarion or go online to www.academyofmusic.org.

The Academy

of Music’s

restored

chandelier.

Photo by

Michael Bolton

Opera Etiquette 101 5

There’s nothing quite as excitingas attending the opera in a beautiful theater like the Academy of Music. Youwill attending the opera’s final dressrehearsal, the last chance for the artiststo rehearse before opening night. Theopera will be run through without apause, just like a performance.

In the center of the floor level ofthe Academy, the Parquet Level, you’llnotice computer monitors on a largetable. The production team sits here totake notes and talk via headset with themany people backstage who make operatic magic happen.

Unlike actors on television or in the movies,performers onstage are very aware of the audience.They want to share their love of performing with you.Everything you do in the audience affects what happens on stage. Because this is a workingrehearsal, please refrain from talking. All of theartists need to concentrate on fine-tuning the production. You can show them how much youappreciate their work and the opportunity to come tothe rehearsal by being as quiet as possible. So,please refrain from talking out of respect for thecast, musicians, the entire production team, andeveryone in the theater. Give the artists and the production your full attention!

ACTIVE LEARNING

The picture on this page shows several patrons and famousopera characters on their way to attend an opera in theAcademy of Music.

Now picture yourself in their shoes. On a separate piece ofpaper, write a few words on what you think the trip to theopera will be like. You may want to mention coming intoPhiladelphia, visiting the Academy of Music, attending theopera. What will you wear? How will you and your classmatesact? At what time will you meet your classmates? How mayclassmates will attend? Will you have a special dinner beforethe opera? If so, where? Will the opera be exciting and entertaining? Share your thoughts here and compare your stories with your classmates.

Here’s a list of do’s and don’ts so that everyone in the theater can enjoy the opera:

Please Do...• Applaud after the arias; you can shout “Bravo!” for the men and “Brava!” for the women.

• Enter and exit the theater in an orderly fashion.

• Please use the bathrooms before the rehearsal begins or at intermission.

• Be careful in the auditorium! Because the theatre is 150 years old, it’s not necessarily designed for modern conveniences.

• Turn off your cell phones and all electronic devices.

• Enjoy the rehearsal. You’ve worked too hard preparing for the rehearsal not to!

Don’t Forget...• Food, gum and beverages are not allowed inside the Academy of Music.

• Photographs or video footage may not be taken duringthe performance.

• No talking or whispering during the rehearsal.

• No shoving, jumping, running, or spitting in the Academy of Music.

• Please obey the Academy of Music ushers and staff.

• Keep all objects to yourself. If you throw something, you might hurt someone and cause a disruption in rehearsal.It is grounds for removal from the auditorium.

• MAKE YOUR SCHOOL PROUD!

6

There’s a Place for You at

Settlement Music School

Settlement Music School is a community artsschool that offers programs and activities in music,voice, dance and the related arts to help those interested achieve their greatest potential.

Settlement is dedicated to a belief that people of all ages, abilities, backgrounds,

and financial circumstances deserve and willbenefit from the high quality programs that

Settlement offers.

Founded in 1908, the School began when twoyoung volunteer teachers offered piano lessons for anickel. The response was so huge they raised theprice to a dime to hire more teachers. A full programof instruction soon took shape, encompassing allinstruments and voice and taught by professionals,including members of the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Today, Settlement’s six branches reach allover Philadelphia and serve more than 9,000 pupilson site and another 6,000 through outreach programs. Students from every zip code inPhiladelphia and the eight surrounding counties inPennsylvania and New Jersey attend Settlement.The school has four Philadelphia branches(West Philadelphia, Germantown, Kardon-

Northeast, and the original South Philadelphiaschool - the Mary Louise Curtis branch in QueenVillage); one in Jenkintown, Montgomery County;and the newest location in Camden, NJ.

An impressive list of former Settlement students has gone on to exciting careers, includingactor Kevin Bacon, jazz bassist Stanley Clarke,

pianist Joey DeFrancesco, Tonight Show guitarist

Kevin Eubanks, Hollywood film composer Alex

North, Star Wars director Irv Kershner, numerousmembers of The Philadelphia Orchestra (as well asmusicians in orchestras around the country). Evenscientist Albert Einstein was a Settlement MusicSchool student! In fact, studies show that scienceand music use similar principles—so music lessonsmay help your math skills, too.

Settlement is a vital force in the communitiesit serves. It brings together students from every walkof life, providing many with opportunities otherwise unavailable to them through scholarshipand financial aid. Settlement Music School helpsthem not only to develop musical and artistic talents, but also to build self confidence and readiness for academic and other achievements.Students who come here begin life-long friendshipswith other students who perform with them inensemble and orchestra programs. One student, acurrent member of the Philadelphia Orchestra, stillplays “gigs” on the side with a friend he met when hewas 14 years old at Settlement.

Students’ work at Settlement puts them intouch with the best of themselves, the best of theirneighbors, and the best that the world has to offer increative expression. And, anybody, no matter whatyour skill or circumstance, is accepted. Call 215-320-2600 or visit Settlement’s website atwww.smsmusic.org for more information.

Settlement Music School BranchesMary Louise Curtis (215) 320-2600416 Queen Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147

Germantown (215) 320-26106128 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19144

Kardon-Northeast (215) 320-26203745 Clarendon Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19114

Jenkintown Music School (215) 320-2630515 Meetinghouse Road, Jenkintown, PA 19046

West Philadelphia (215) 320-26404910 Wynnefield Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19131

Camden School of Musical Arts (856) 541-6375 531-35 Market Street, Camden, NJ 08102

Visit the Settlement Music School website atwww.smsmusic.org.

Famous

Philadelphia-born

actor Kevin Bacon

took lessons at

Settlement Music

School. You can,

too!

7

See rehearsal photos on our website athttp://www.operaphila.org/production/behind-scenes. Log onand see our Behind the Scenes area to see how a production develops from the first day of rehearsalto opening night!

Also, you can download extra copies of theSounds of Learning™ guide and past guides fromthis page as well. All of this content is provided forfree!

If you’re online, check out our myspace and facebook pages, too. Just search for Opera Company ofPhiladelphia!

OPERA – Online!

Settlement Music School gives you ways totake music lessons and learn more about music in neighborhood locations throughout the area. Where

do you go if you want to learn more about this

opera, opera singers, opera-related topics and

experience opera more frequently?

The Opera Company make this easy for you atabsolutely no cost! Visit the Opera Company’s website at http://operaphila.org/community/sol-prod4.shtmland find out more information about L’enfant et les

sortilèges, Gianni Schicchi, and all the operas presented by the Opera Company.

Another great way to learn more is to sign upfor our Sounds of Learning™ email list at education@operaphila.org and each week we’llsend you a video “clip of the week” with famousopera singers singing great arias and ensembles.Some will be funny, some will be thrilling, somewill be dramatic, all if it will be exciting! Alsoincluded in the email will be the website of theweek. We’ll feature links to singers’ websites, musiclinks, other great music and opera websites. Youcan build a whole library of video clips to go backto again and again! Share the clips and links withyour family and friends.

Don’t forget to check out our Sounds of

Learning™ blog at http://operaphillysol.blogspot.com. Theblog will allow you to discuss the opera with students throughout the tri-state area! Log onto theblog and share your thoughts and views about theopera, the music, the set, the singers, the Academyof Music, coming to center city Philadelphia, theemail list clip of the week and more! Other studentsparticipating in Sounds of Learning™ fromPennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware want tohear what you have to say! Post your comments bygoing to http://operaphillysol.blogspot.com.

8

Puccini’s family was very poor due to hisfather’s death at the age of 51, when Giacomo wasfive. He was the oldest son. His mother was left tosupport two sons and six daughters. She believedthat a good education could free her children fromtheir poverty. The following letter was written byPuccini’s mother to the Queen of Italy in an attemptto acquire a scholarship for her son.

Majesty,

You are the Queen and the mother of all the

poor, and you are also the patroness of artists, while

I am a poor widow with two young sons, whose

ambition in life is to give them the best education. My

children are students of music, and the older of them,

Giacomo, shows great promise. For five

generations, the Puccini’s have formed a dynasty of

musicians, and if the opportunity should arise,

Giacomo will continue the glorious tradition. He has

terminated his studies at Lucca; he desires to

proceed to Milan, the capital of music. I cannot myself

pay his expenses at the Conservatory, for I have only

a meager monthly pension of 75 lire allowed me by

the City Council. The Duchess Carafa, who knows me

well, has encouraged me to write to Your Majesty.

Will you therefore in your immense generosity come to

the help of a poor mother and an ambitious boy.

Kissing your munificent hand, I am

Albina Magi-Puccini

Even after Puccini received a scholarship, heremained poor. He often wrote to his mother aboutfood, requesting a little olive oil or some beans. He

found that the other students were fromwealthier families and he could not jointhem at the cafes of Milan because a drinkwas more than he could afford.

While he was a student at the conservatory,he wrote Capriccio sinfonico. This piece waspart of his graduation requirements, and itfound its way into the opening theme of hisopera La bohème.

After he graduated with a bronze medal, hestruggled for ten years before he became recognized as a major talent in the field ofopera. During this time, he would send his

younger brother Michele the few extra lire he had.However, his brother decided to immigrate toBuenos Aires, Argentina, in 1889 in search of a better life. It was there that he became ill with yellowfever in 1891 and died. The loss of his brotherpained Giacomo deeply. If he had been successful a little earlier, he thought, his brotherwould not have had to emigrate.

Puccini’s family was not the only one suffering. Italy was one of the poorest nations ofEurope when Puccini was alive. Italy had been oneof the last nations to unify its states into a countyand powerful Europe nations and the Vatican controlled large sections of the country. As a resultof political instability and frequent wars that movedthrough the region, Italy’s economy was largelyunderdeveloped. The economy was weak becauseinvestors make investments in nations with stablegovernments. Countries that have frequent uprisings or political instability place the investments and economy at greater risk. Whowould want to invest money in an area where thenew factory could be burned down in the next riot?As a result, Italy was not able to begin to attract theforeign investors needed to build its economy.

Some scholars feel that the loss of his youngbrother to an early death, as a result of poverty, wasthe passionate power behind the music in hisoperas. The theme of poverty was again addressed inGianni Schicchi as Buoso Donati’s relatives try torewrite the old man’s will so they get his riches. AsPuccini grew more successful, he continued to beaware of the suffering of those he considered to have“great sorrows in little souls.”

ACTIVE LEARNING1. What are some of the challenges facing families living in poverty in Philadelphia?

2. What are some ways that you can help those who are living in poverty?

3. Investigate local charities that work with the homeless and see what kinds of programs they provide.

4. If you were in a position to assist at a local charity, can you think of other programs that you would start to help the homeless more?

The Man Behind the Music:

Giacomo Puccini

Giacomo Puccini Photo CourtesyLibrary of Congress Prints andPhotographs Division Washington, D.C.20540 , #LC-USZ62-65802

9

Joseph-Maurice Ravel was born in Ciboure,France on March 7, 1875. His mother, MarieDelouart, was Basque, while his father, JosephRavel, was a Swiss inventor and industrialist.Among his father's inventions was an early internalcombustion engine.

The family moved to Paris when Maurice wasthree months old. At age seven, he started piano lessons and soon began composing. His parentsencouraged his musical talent and sent him to theConservatoire de Paris when he was 14. After hispreparatory studies he majored in piano. During hisschooling in Paris, Ravel befriended a group ofground-breaking young artists who called themselves the Apaches (hooligans) because of theirwild abandon.

At the Conservatoire he studied with thefamous composer Gabriel Fauré for fourteen years.Ravel’s cutting edge originality was off-putting to theprofessors at the Conservatoire. After losing theprestigious Prix de Rome competition five times,Ravel left the Conservatoire in 1905 when his submission was eliminated after the first round,despite the public success of several of his works.

In the early 20th century Ravel (together withClaude Debussy) created a style of music partlyinspired by the Impressionist paintings of Claude

Monet. As a result, France became one of the mostexciting musical countries in the world.

Ravel worked with Sergei Diaghilev, founderof the Ballet Russes, who staged his ballets Ma

Mère l'Oye and Daphnis et Chloé. The latter was commissioned by Diaghilev with the lead danced bythe famous Russian dancer Vaslav Nijinsky.

Around 1918 Ravel's style changed dramatically. His music became more abstract incharacter. But no matter what style in which hewrote, Ravel was a master of orchestral and pianowriting, with a musical language instantly recognizable as his own.

In 1921, the French government recognizedRavel's achievements with the Légion d'Honneur

award. Unfortunately, it was announced publiclybefore Ravel himself had been informed and hepromptly declined the prize. He moved to the

countryside while stillwriting music. Duringthis time, Diaghilevasked Ravel to writeLa Valse (1920).Ravel was so hurt bythe fact that Diaghilevnever used the composition that whenthe two men met again in1925, Ravel refused toshake Diaghilev's hand.

Although Ravel traveledabroad in his youth, it was not until he was in hisfifties that he ventured across the Atlantic. In 1928,Ravel gave an enormously successful four monthconcert tour of America, traveling as far west as San

Francisco. American audiences were enthusiasticand he got to meet show business and art celebritieswhile here.

Ravel’s most famous composition, Boléro,was also a high point of 1928. Written as a ballet,the piece was huge success, much to Ravel’s surprise, who thought most orchestras would refuseto perform it. Arturo Toscanini conducted the U.S. premiere of Boléro to standing ovations and cheers.

In 1931, Oxford University awarded Ravel anhonorary doctorate. He also met George Gershwin,

and the two became friends. Ravel's admiration ofAmerican jazz led him to include some jazz elementsin a few of his later compositions, especially thepiano concertos.

Ravel began to show signs of neurologicalproblems in 1927, and over the next few years hesuffered from minor muscle problems, aphasia, anddementia. In 1932 after a car crash, his symptomsbegan to worsen and affect his work. He had begunwork on music for a film version of Don Quixote

(1933), but he was unable to finish it. He eventuallylost all ability to communicate either throughspeech, reading, or writing. Ravel consented to brainsurgery to correct the aphasia, but on December 28,1937, he died in Paris after surgery. He is buried inLevallois-Perret, a suburb of northwest Paris.

French Impressionist

Maurice Ravel

Maurice Ravel1875 – 1937

What in the World??Personal and Historic Events during the Lives

of Ravel and Puccini

10

Listed below are some historic and cultural events that took place during our composers’ lives. Events in boldface type are things thathappened to Puccini and Ravel; an asterisk (*) indicates events of local interest. What might it have been like to be alive at this time?

1857 *

1858

1861

1865

1870 *

1874 *

1875

1876

1877 *

1882

1883

*

1884

1884

1888

1889

1890

1890

1892

1893*

1895

1896

1898

1899

1900

1901 *

1903

1904

Philadelphia’s Academy of Music opened with a concert conducted by Tchaikovsky.

Puccini was born on December 22 in Lucca, son of Michele and Albina Magi.

American Civil War began. It ended in 1865.

The 13th Amendment to the Constitution abolished slavery throughout the U.S.

The first section of the famous boardwalk in Atlantic City, N.J. opened to the public.

The first U.S. zoo opened in Philadelphia.

Maurice Ravel was born in Ciboure, France on March 7.

Puccini wrote the Symphonic Prelude. He attended the opera Aïda and was very impressed.

The first department store was opened by John Wanamaker in Philadelphia.

The first string of Christmas tree lights was created by Thomas Edison.

Puccini graduated from the conservatory with a bronze medal. His Capriccio Sinfonico,which he later used in his opera La bohème, was performed by the student orchestra.

The Philadelphia Phillies, then called the Quakers, played their first baseball game.

Puccini’s first opera, Le Villi, premiered on May 31 in Milan. He began to work with publisher Giulio Ricordi. His mother died. He began a long love affair with his friend wife.

America's first roller coaster began operating at Coney Island, NYC. It hit a top speed of 6 mph.

The Washington Monument opened.

Puccini’s second opera Edgar premiered at La Scala on April 21 with short-lived success.

Ravel entered Paris Conservatoire, but left in 1895 when he graduated from piano class.

Ellis Island, NYC, opened as a US immigration depot.

The American Pledge of Allegiance was first recited in public schools to commemorate Columbus Day.

Manon Lescaut gave Puccini his first big success at Teatro Reggio in Turin on February 1.

Philadelphia observed the first Flag Day.

Frederick E. Blaisdell patented the pencil.

Arturo Toscanini led the premiere of La bohème at Teatro Regio on February 1.

The first movie theater in US opened and charged 10 cents for admission.

Ravel returned Paris Conservatoire to study composition with Gabriel Faurè.

Ravel wrote his famous piano work, Pavane pour une infante défunte (Pavne for a dead infant).

Puccini’s Tosca premiered at Teatro Costanzi in Rome on January 14.Les Apaches, a group of French creative artists of which Ravel was a member, was formed around 1900.

The first annual Mummers parade was held in Philadelphia.

Ravel wrote his famous orchestra song cycle Shéhérazade.

Puccini married Elvira Bonturi after the death of her first husband. Madama Butterfly hada disastrous premiere at La Scala, but its revised version was a triumph on May 28.

11

1909

1910

1911

1912

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1919 *

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Tenor Enrico

Caruso in

Puccini’s

La fanciulla delwest. Photo courtesyLibrary of Congress

Ravel received a commission by the ballet impresario and creator of Ballets Ruses, Sergei Diaghilev, towrite the ballet Daphnis et Chloé. The role of Daphnis was danced by Vaslav Nijinsky at the premiere.

Puccini attended the New York premiere of La fanciulla del west on November 10. The opera was based on David Belasco’s play, The Girl of the Golden West.

Ravel’s first completed opera, L’heure espagnole (The Spanish Hour), premiered at the Opéra Comique, Paris on May 19.

Ravel turned his piano suite Ma mère l’oye (Mother Goose) into a ballet score.

The British ocean liner Titanic sank after hitting an iceberg.

W.H. Carrier patented the air conditioner.

Ravel volunteered in the French army as a truck driver, but was discharged after 18 months because of medical problems.

Puccini’s operetta-inspired La rondine debuted in Monte Carlo on March 27.

Ravel’s mother died, which devastated the composer.

Puccini had his second world premiere at the Met with Il trittico on December 14.

Daylight Savings Time went into effect throughout the United States for the first time.

Construction began on the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s current home. It was completed in 1928.

The United States Congress passed the 18th amendment, prohibiting alcoholic beverages, and the 19th amendment which granted suffrage to American women.

Ravel moves to an apartment near Montfort-l’Amaury with his cats and whimsical toys and art objects.

Harlem Renaissance begins in the New York City borough.

After treatment for throat cancer, Puccini died of a heart attack on November 29. His remains weremoved to Torre del Lago and reinterred in the estate chapel.

Ravel’s second complete opera, L’enfant et les sortileges premiered in Monte Carlo on March 21st.

Puccini’s Turandot premiered incomplete at La Scala, conducted by Toscanini on April 25. Later performance included the ending as completed by Franco Alfano who used Puccini’s sketches.

National Geographic took the 1st natural-color undersea photos.

The National Broadcasting Co. (NBC) debuted with a radio network of 24 stations.

Ravel gave a concert tour of America and premiered his most famous work, Boléro.

Smokey the Bear was created.

The Great Stock Market Crash devastated the American investors and was one of several events that led to the Great Depression, which ended around 1939.

The Philadelphia Athletes defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 7-1 to win the World Series.

Ravel was diagnosed with Pick’s disease, a disease that causes brain deterioration.

Parker Brothers began to sell the Monopoly board game

Ravel underwent to experimental brain surgery. After surgery he went into a coma and soon died.

ACTIVE LEARNINGExplore the library or the internet and discover more events that occurred during this era.Consider making your own timeline with additional events from this period. You may also illustrate your timeline.

1. Which presidents were in office during Puccini’s lifetime?2. What amendment granted women the right to vote and when was it made law?3. The Philadelphia Phillies were not always called that. Under what other names did they play?Information taken from Timelines of History website at http://timelines.ws.

12 Making Magic OnstageHow do you create an opera? It’s a long and

collaborative process that can take over a year. Forthe Opera Company of Philadelphia’s production ofRavel’s L’enfant et les sortilèges, the road to producing the opera has been invigorating and creatively inspiring. “Ultimately,” says OperaCompany General and Artistic Director Robert B.

Driver, “the process of creating a production is asrewarding as the final product.”

When deciding to mount a production ofRavel’s infrequently performed gem, Mr. Driver says,“What attracts me most to L’enfant is that it is sowhimsical. There is an innate sense of humor to thepiece and plenty of opportunities for fun onstage.”

Ravel even got caught up in the whimsy ofthe piece. The composer couldn’t speak English orChinese. When he and his librettist, famous Frenchnovelist Colette, worked on the duet for the Teapotand China cup, they threw in nonsensical Englishand Chinese words, even making up some wordsthat they thought sounded Chinese.

Mr. Driver continued, “Ravel’s music beautifully describes the moods and personalities ofmyriad characters: from the petulant, spoiled Child,to the 18th Century style courtly dance of the sofaand chair, to the panic that Arithmetic instills. Thestory is one that everyone can relate to: a child thatdoesn’t want to do his homework. But the Childthrows a tantrum and ends up getting punished. Wethink that the Child is cruel, but he is redeemedwhen he shows his good nature by helping the squirrel.

“As a producer you have to ask yourself,‘How do you show the magic of the piece, especiallywhen the music is so descriptive?’” As the opera’sproducer and director, Mr. Driver’s challenge washow to bring the opera to life. “I start with an idea orconcept of what the production will look like,” hesays. He needed to hire his design team to help bringthe opera to the stage. The artistic team adds to the creative process by exchanging ideaswith one another. The final product is the result of avery collaborative effort.

Joining Mr. Driver on the L’enfant artisticteam are Italian set designer Guia Buzzi, costumedesigner Richard St. Clair, video designer Lorenzo

Curone and choreographer Amanda Miller.

With his team in place they discussedwhether the entire opera was a dream or real.Ultimately they want to leave that decision to theaudience. Should the set design be realistic or moredream like? Mr. Driver knew from the outset that hedidn’t want a production that was “realistic” inwhich the objects would come to life as they do inDisney’s Broadway production of Beauty and theBeast. They decided to set the opera in the time ofthe composer: the 1920s. They wanted to make ascolorful and imaginative a production as possible. Ablazing red set was initially designed.

Richard St. Clair’sdesign for the

Grandfather Clock,complete with

Salvador Dali inspiredmoustache and broken

pendulum-like tie.

13

Math always plays a part in creating anopera production. As the production began to cometogether they realized that the cost of their visionwould go beyond the amount of money that hadbeen budgeted. They would need to be more creativeto spend less money to come in on budget.

The artistic team wanted a production thatwould be of high artistic quality yet inspire the audience’s imagination. They decided to use technology and video projections to expand the possibilities of what could happen onstage. To moveaway from a Beauty and the Beast production style,the team decided that the singers would be costumed as the “spirit” of the furniture rather thanthe physical representation of them. Some of thefurniture in the room would now become projectionswhile a singer’s costume would be designed to suggest the furniture based on similar fabrics andtextures.

For example, the costume for the Side Chairhas red and white stripes, which will be the samecolors of the projection of the actual chair. CostumeDesigner Richard St. Clair says, “Because this operais in French, I was inspired by the Louis XIV stylechair the set designer had chosen. Amanda Millerthe choreographer had imagined a very court-likestyle of choreography for the chairs. I was inspiredby Marie Antoinette and the French designerLacroix. By googling 'Lacroix Dress' I found a dressthat had a shape that evoked the 18th Century, thetime of Marie Antoinette, and also evoked the feelingof a fancy chair with a skirt under the seat. I lookedat many costume books, especially Lacroix onFashion. It is fun to find research on the internetbut books can never be replaced as the best sourceof inspiration and research for costumes.

“The top of the dress will be padded to looklike the back of a fancy chair. Under her dress shewill have 'panniers'- which are little padded 'hipbuckets' that they used in the 18th C. to make thedresses look wider at the hips. French doors wereactually invented because some panniers got sowide that a woman had to go though double wideopened doors because her court dress was so bigfrom side to side! You can see these by googlingimages of panniers and 18th Century dress. For herhairstyle I also googled images of Marie Antoinettefor inspiration. She will have a powdered white wigin the style of the mid 18th century- the time whenMarie Antoinette was a young girl.”

Projections have liberated the creative teamto explore the possibilities of the technology. Imagesand animations will be projected onto a specialscreen called a scrim. Characters will walk in andout of the scrim as the singers become the spirit ofthe furniture. Some characters will sing from the

stage to a character projected onto the scrim, someprojected characters will sing to a character onstage,two projected characters will sing to each other, two characters onstage will sing to each other, and more.

For Robert B. Driver, this production hasbeen very fulfilling to produce. He’s been able to usehis artistic creativity at high speed to create a fascinating, playful, and charming production. Wehope that you enjoy this rarely performed opera, too!

Costume DesignerRichard St. Clair’sLouis XIV Chair-inspired costume.

14

Music was also influenced by theImpressionist school. French composers such asL’enfant et les sortilèges composer Maurice Ravel,

Claude Debussy (Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun,

Clair de Lune), and Paul Dukas (The Sorcerer’s

Apprentice) wrote in this style. In the mid 1800sFrance was under the spell of the music of Germanopera composer Richard Wagner. His music wasdramatic, very emotional and very romantic. Hisoperas’ subjects are based on legends and mythslike Tristan and Isolde, the Flying Dutchman,

Lohengrin, or the Norse god Odin.

Composer Claude Debussy reacted againstthis romanticism and chose a path opposite that ofWagner. Unlike music that dramatically wears itsheart on its sleeve and overwhelms with emotion,Impressionist music is very atmospheric and creates“descriptive feelings.” Like the somewhat blurrypaintings of the school that don’t precisely depict animage, Impressionist music doesn’t necessarilydescribe anything or tell a story; it simply creates amood. Ravel’s famous Bolèro doesn’t have a plot,but it is definitely atmospheric.

Debussy and Ravel revolutionized the waymusic sounded by using the notes in a way that noone before them had. They used whole-tone scalepatterns rather than the traditional major and minorscales and used dissonant note clusters which created striking new harmonies. They influencedcomposers from Gianni Schicchi composerGiacomo Puccini to George Gershwin, composer ofPorgy and Bess, Rhapsody in Blue, and hundreds ofpopular songs. Gershwin was so taken with Ravel’smusic that he wanted to study with him in Paris.Ravel commented, “Why should you be a second-rate Ravel when you can be a first-rate Gershwin?”

ACTIVE LEARNING

1. Visit the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s European Art galleries.

2. Listen to Ravel’s Bolèro or Debussy’s The Prelude to theAfternoon of a Faun, or Dukas’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.

3 Read Stéphane Mallarmé’s poem The Afternoon of a Faunand discuss it with your classmates.

Maurice Ravel’s fantastical L’enfant et les

sortilèges is a mix of musical styles as seen throughthe his impressionistic lens. Impressionism was aFrench artistic school in the late 1800s and early1900s that influenced music, art, and literature.

Impressionist painters looked at subjects in anon-representational way. Their paintings don’thave a realistic, photographic-like quality to them.They call attention to light and color to give an"impression" of their subjects. As many artistswould paint in the open air or en plein air, the lightwould change as the sun made its way across thesky. Some artists would show the changing light intheir art. Artists also illustrated movement, which,along with their trademark short brush strokes,tends to give the paintings a “blurry” feeling. Someof the most famous French Impressionist paintersare Paul Cézanne, Claude Monet, and Pierre-

Auguste Renoir. Dozens of their pieces can be seenat the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Even Americanpainter Mary Cassatt is famous for her some of herImpressionist-style works.

Impressionist writers expressed a character’sfeelings, sensations, and impressions, rather thanexplaining their emotions and actions. Impressionistwriting is similar to Symbolist writing because bothinclude non-realistic and representational elements.Impressionist writers from France include Charles

Baudelaire, Arthur Rimbaud, and Paul Verlaine.

Two of the most famous Impressionist writers,Virginia Woolf and Joseph Conrad, aren’t French,but British and Polish.

Seeing between the Lines:

The Impressionists

Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette (Le Bal auMoulin de la Galette), 1876

15

L’enfant et les sortilègesA naughty child, procrastinating over school

work, is reprimanded by his mother. Along in hisroom, the child throws a tantrum and attacks everything around him, including the family cat.One by one all of the objects in the room come to lifeto speak to him of their plight: the armchair, grandfather clock, even the flickering fire. Suddenlyhis neglected arithmetic homework comes up tochallenge him with impossible exercises. The catmeows a duet with its mate.

Gradually the room transforms into a gardenfilled with singing animals and tress, who lamenttheir cruel wounds inflicted by the child. They shunhim because of the damage he did to them previously. Feeling rejected from this harmoniousanimal world, he eventually cries out, "Maman."

At this, the animals turn and close in on him.A small squirrel, previously wounded, comes up tothe child's lap. Instinctively the child shows compassion, and bandages the squirrel's paw with aribbon. These actions cause the animals to have achange of heart toward the child, and they decide totry to help him home by calling "Maman." Soon,Maman comes to the call and is reunited with herchild.

Gianni SchicchiBuoso Donati, a rich older gentleman, has

just died. His relatives are gathered around thedeathbed feigning grief, while their minds are on thecontents of his will.

When a rumor surfaces that Buoso has lefthis entire fortune to a local monastery. The rumorsends everyone into a frenzy to locate the will.

Rinuccio finds it first and withholds it fromthe others with a condition attached: when the family members receive their money, Rinuccio wantstheir permission to marry Lauretta, the daughter ofGianni Schicchi. The family agrees, but they are disappointed when the will is opened and it doesindeed leave all of Buoso's money to the Church.

Rinuccio, determined to get his way, suggeststhat the family consult Gianni Schicchi, who isfamed for his cunning. Not waiting for the family toanswer, Rinuccio secretly summons Schicchi for

help. The family scoffs at Schicchi's low birth buteventually deigns to ask for help. Schicchi refusesand Lauretta intercedes, begging her father tochange his mind and make her marriage to Rinucciopossible in the famous aria "O, mio babbino caro."

Schicchi agrees and comes up with a plan:they are to hide Buoso's death long enough for himto disguise himself as the old man and dictate a newwill. The family loves the plan and promptly contactsa notary. Before the notary arrives, each familymember tries to bribe Schicchi to leave the largestportion of property to them. Schicchi agrees to all ofthe bribes, and reminds the family members thatrevealing the hoax will mean severe legal repercussions: the penalty for forgery is the loss of ahand and exile.

When the notary arrives, Schicchi, as Buoso,awards the majority of the property to "my devotedfriend, Gianni Schicchi." The relatives are h elpless to intervene and once the notary is gone, Schicchidrives them all out of his newly-inherited home.Rinuccio and Lauretta remain and sing of their love.Schicchi joins them and announces to the audiencehis satisfaction with the way Buoso's money hasbeen used.

L’enfant/Schicchi Plot

Synopses

Richard St.

Clair’s design for

the China Cup in

Ravels’ L’enfant

et les sortilèges

38

Who Was

Gianni Schicchi?Gianni Schicchi, the infamous Florentine

forever immortalized in Dante’s Divine Comedy andin Puccini’s only comic opera, was actually a realperson. He was a member of the famous Cavalcanti

family and was well known for being a mischievousand talented, if dodgy, imitator.

Schicchi’s impersonation of the recentlydeceased Buoso Donati, earned him a spot inDante’s work. Buoso died around 1285 and was ofthe noble Black Guelph Donati family. Schicchirewrote Donati’s will, bequeathing the dead man’smost precious items to himself. It’s hard to say if thestory actually took place or not. Some scholars thinkit is true, while others think it’s a local legend thathas been credited to Schicchi.

These humorous and shocking events areonly alluded to in the Inferno section of Divine

Comedy. Dante may have known Schicchi. Dantewas close friends with poet Guido Cavalcanti Danteand was connected to the Donati family through marriage. When Dante was 12 years old, his marriage was arranged to Gemma di Manetto

Donati, daughter of Manetto Donati. Gemma mayhave been a cousin or niece of Buoso Donati.

The full details and perhaps the real inspiration for the opera’s libretto are found in“Commentary on the Divine Comedy by an

Anonymous Florentine of the 14th Century'',

which was printed in 1866. The story says that themortally ill Buoso Donati wanted to make his will.He was rich and had much to leave others. His sonSimone wouldn’t call the notary to have the will written. When Donati died, Simone hid his death,afraid that a will was written before the illness.

Simone asked Gianni Schicchi for advice.Schicchi could mimic anyone and he knew Buosowell. Schicchi would dictate a new will as Simonewished, but would leave something for himself. Simone agreed. A notary was notified thatBuoso wanted to make a will. Buoso’s body was hidden. Schicchi put on Buoso’s nightcap and gotinto his bed.

The notary arrived and Schicchi perfectlyimitated the dead man and dictated a new will. Heleft 20 soldi to the works of Santa Reparata, and 5lire to the Little Friars, and 5 to the Preachers, making sure to leave something for God. He then left500 florins to Gianni Schicchi. Upset, Simone saidhe would pay Schicchi on his own. Schicchi, asBuoso, countered that he would give his wealth ashe pleased and that Simone would be very happywith what was given to him. Schicchi continued,leaving Buoso’s mule, the best in Tuscany, to himself. Simone argued that Schicchi didn’t need amule. “Buoso” responded that he knew whatSchicchi wanted better than Simone did. “Buoso”finished by leaving a hundred florins owed to him byhis neighbor to Schicchi and everything else toSimone. He specified that if the will wasn’t executedin fifteen days, all of his riches would go to the LittleFriars of Santa Croce. With the will complete, alldeparted. Schicchi got out of bed, and Buoso's bodywas replaced.

Truth or legend, we may never know ifSchicchi actually rewrote Donati’s will. He is certainly a colorful character from history, and oneof the funniest men to grace the operatic stage.

ACTIVE LEARNING:1. Which lines in Dante’s Inferno refer to Gianni Schicchi and Buoso Donati?

2. Who were some of the prominent members of the Cavalcanti family?

3. Who were the Guelfs and the Ghibellines?

Ricordi opera

poster for

Puccini’s GianniSchicchi

37

Devilish Inspiration:

Dante’s Divine ComedyAround 1304 Durante degli Alighieri,

called Dante Alighieri today, began writing the single greatest work in the Italian language and one of thegreatest works of literature ever: Divina Commedia,or Divine Comedy. The work is a classic example ofan epic poem, or a very long poem that tells a story.Other epic poems include Beowulf, One Thousandand One Nights, Paradise Lost by John Milton(1667), and Pan Tadeusz by Adam Mickiewicz(1834).

Dante lived during the late Middle Ages inFlorence. It is believed he was born in 1265, but noofficial birth records exist. Though famous today forhis writing, his passion was politics. Dante was animportant man in the White Guelf political faction,named for its symbolic color. When the group wasoverthrown in 1302, Dante and the White Guelphswere exiled. The Pope said if he returned to Florencehe would be burned at the stake. During his exileDante wrote Divine Comedy and other works.

At that time Italy was broken up into manystates, each with its own dialect. Dante wrote theComedy in a new language he called "Italian". It wasbased on the Tuscany dialect, with a mix of someLatin and other regional dialects.

Most important works were published inLatin, but Comedy was one of the first to be published in the vernacular. More people were ableto read it, and it helped standardize Italianthroughout the land. The poem is called a “comedy”because it is in Italian. If it had been written inLatin, it would have been thought to be a more serious and important work.

Written in the first person, Divine Comedy

relays Dante’s Easter journey through the threerealms of the dead in 1300. The poet Virgil guideshim through the Nine Circles of Hell and the Three

Terraces of Purgatory. Beatrice, a woman he hadloved from afar in the tradition of courtly love sincehe was nine years old, guides him through the Nine

Spheres of Heaven.

The poem is famously complex with interweaving themes and symbolism. The numbersthree and nine appear throughout. It has over14,000 lines. Each of its three sections, Inferno(Hell), Purgatorio (Purgatory), and Paradiso(Heaven) has an introductory canto, or verse, and 33cantos. The entire poem has a total of 100 cantos.

Dante created a three line stanza, calledterza rima, to make a chain rhyme in this pattern:

a-b-a, b-c-b, c-d-c, d-e-d, e-e. An example of thistype of rhyme is Percy Shelly’s “Ode to the West

Wind”(1819):

0 wild West Wind, thou breath of Autumn's being, (a)Thou, from whose unseen presence the leaves dead (b)Are driven, like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing, (a)

Yellow, and black, and pale, and hectic red, (b)Pestilence-stricken multitudes: 0 thou, (c)Who chariotest to their dark wintry bed (b)

The wingèd seeds, where they lie cold and low, (c)Each like a corpse within its grave, until (d)Thine azure sister of the Spring shall blow (c)

Her clarion o'er the dreaming earth, and fill (d)(Driving sweet buds like flocks to feed in air) (e)With living hues and odours plain and hill: (d)

Wild Spirit, which art moving everywhere; (e)Destroyer and Preserver; hear, 0 hear! (e)

Our opera’s Gianni Schicchi appears inthe 30th Canto in Inferno, lines 33–45. GianniSchicchi was a member of the Florentine Cavalcanti

family and known for his impersonations. SimoneDonati hired him to impersonate his dead father,Buoso Donati, and alter the will in Simone's favorbefore the death was publicly revealed. For this he isto spend the rest of his days in Hell.

The work was first published in 1314 andwas regarded as a masterpiece. The allegorical poemhas gone on to influence writers throughout the agesand helped unify the Italian states with one language. Dante was an influential writer, politician,and gave birth to a new language for Italy.

Gustave Doré's

1867 illustration

for the 28th Canto

of In Paradiso, in

Dante's Divine

Comedy

The School District of PhiladelphiaSchool Reform CommissionSandra Dungee Glenn, Chairwoman

Martin G. Bednarek, member

James P. Gallagher, Ph.D, member

Denise McGregor Armbrister, member

Heidi A. Ramirez, Ph.D, member

Dr. Arlene C. AkermanSuperintendent of Schoolsand Interim Chief Academic Officer

Dennis W. Creedon, Ed.D.Administrator, Office of Creative

and Performing Arts

Opera Company of PhiladelphiaRobert B. DriverGeneral and Artistic Director

Corrado RovarisMusic Director

David B. DevanManaging Director

Michael BoltonDirector of Community Programs

Opera Company of PhiladelphiaCorporate CouncilADVANTAKPMGPark Hyatt Philadelphia at the BellevuePennsylvania TrustQuaker ChemicalSunocoWachovia Wealth ManagementWyeth

The Opera Company of Philadelphia is sup-

ported by major grants from The William Penn

Foundation, The Pew Charitable Trusts, and

The Lenfest Foundation.

Additional support is provided by the

Independence Foundation and the Horace W.

Goldsmith Foundation.

The Opera Company of

Philadelphia receives state arts

funding support through

a grant from the Pennsylvania

Council on the Arts, a state

agency funded by the

Commonwealth

of Pennsylvania.

Sounds of Learning™ was established by a

generous grant from The AnnenbergFoundation.

Dedicated funding for the Sounds ofLearning™ program has been provided by:

$20,000 to $49,999

Glenmede

Hamilton Family Foundation

Lincoln Financial Group Foundation

Presser Foundation

Universal Health Services

$10,000 to $19,999The ARAMARK Charitable Fund at the Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program

Citizens Bank Foundation

Ellis A. Gimbel Charitable Trust

Ethel Sergeant Clark Smith

Memorial Fund

Eugene Garfield Foundation

GlaxoSmithKline Foundation

Hirsig Family Fund

Morgan Stanley Foundation

The Patricia Kind Family Foundation

PNC Bank Foundation

Samuel S. Fels Fund

$5,000 to $9,999

Alpin J. & Alpin W. Cameron

Memorial Trust

Bank of America Charitable Foundation

McLean Contributionship

Sheila Fortune Foundation

Wachovia Foundation

$1,000 to $4,999

Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation

Louis N. Cassett Foundation

Reading Anthracite Company

Written and produced by:Opera Company of PhiladelphiaCommunity Programs Department©20091420 Locust Street, Suite 210Philadelphia, PA, U.S.A. 19102Tel: (215) 893-3600, ext. 246Fax: (215) 893-7801www.operaphila.org/community

Michael BoltonDirector of Community Programsbolton@operaphila.org

Cedric RiversMastery Charter School Intern

Special thanks to:

Robert B. Driver

Richard St. Clair

Dr. Dennis W. CreedonCreator, Sounds of Learning™Curriculum Consultant

Adele Betz

Laura Jacoby

Tullo Migliorini

Boosey & Hawkes, Inc.

Universal Music MGB Publications

EMI Records

Maureen LynchOperations ManagerAcademy of Music

Cornell WoodHead UsherAcademy of Music

Academy of Music Ushers

Debra Malinics AdvertisingDesign Concept

Kalnin GraphicsPrinting

Center City Film and Video

R. A. Friedman

The Historical Society of Pennsylvania

Free Library of PhiladelphiaPrint and Picture Department

20082009Opera Company of Philadelphia1420 Locust Street, Suite 210, Philadelphia, PA 19102 T (215) 893-3600 F (215) 893-7801 www.operaphila.org

2008October 10, 12m, 15,19m & 24

2008November 14, 16m,19, 21 & 23m

2009February 20, 22m, 25March 1m & 6

2009April 24, 26m, 29May 1 & 3m

2009June 5, 7m, 10,12 & 14m

2009March 13, 15 & 18

* The Kimmel Center Presents Curtis Opera Theatre’s production in association with Opera Company of Philadelphia

*