Puccini’s Le Villi, the new premiere at the Opera House

TIRANA, June 18 – Puccini’s Le Villi, an opera-ballet in two acts with libretto by Ferdinando Fontana by the great 19th century Italian composer will premiere this weekend at the National Theatre of Opera and Ballet as an Albanian-Italian collaboration. The opera scheduled to stage on June 20 and 22 will be conducted by Italy’s Daniela Candiotto. Colombian tenor Ernisto Grisales has been invited to perform the role of Roberto in the opera along with Albanian sopranos Eteleva Golemi and Ramona Tullumani as well as baritones Ylber Gjini and Armando Lika who will be performing the lead role of Guglielmo.
In a press conference after the first rehearsal with the singers in Albania, Italian conductor Daniela Candiotto said she had loved the artistic spirit and passion of the orchestra, soloists and the director. “I didn’t expect such deep musical culture in Albania,” she said, adding that being a female conductor in Albania didn’t bring her problems compared to Italy where female conductors are rather prejudiced.
Le Villi, the first of Puccini’s operas and one of the least often performed, originated as a one act entry into the same Sonzogno competition series which later brought fame to Mascagni’s “Cavalleria Rusticana” and Leoncavallo’s “I Pagliacci”. The opera premiered in Milan on May 31, 1884 and was soon expanded into a two act opera.
There are only three named characters, Roberto (tenor), who is engaged to Anna (soprano), and Guglielmo (bass or baritone), Anna’s father. The story is based on the central European legend of the Villi’s, forest spirits of maidens who had died of a broken heart and in turn can avenge a betrayal by forcing the wrong-doer into a fatal dance. Apparently the same legend was the subject of the ballet, “Giselle, says Amazon.com