Pelagio (opera)

Saverio Mercadante

Pelagio is an opera (tragedia lirica) in four acts by Saverio Mercadante. The Italian-language libretto was by Marco D'Arienzo. It premiered on 12 February 1857 at the Teatro San Carlo, Naples,[1] to great success.[2]

The opera had further successful performances in Milan and Lisbon.[2]

In modern times, Pelagio was performed in 2005 in Gijón, Spain, and in 2008 at the Festival della Valle d'Itria.[2]

Pelagio is an opera with "roots in the bel canto tradition that shows the influence of Verdi",[3] and the work has been described as rich in "excellent music",[3] with "at least one aria (for Bianca in act 4) of an almost Verdian intensity and pathos".[4]

  1. ^ Casaglia, Gherardo (2005). "Pelagio, 12 February 1857". L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia (in Italian).
  2. ^ a b c "Saverio Mercadante celebrato al Festival della Valle d'Itria" (PDF) (in Italian). Comune di Altamura. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference muscrit was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Rose, in Grove 1998, p. 336