| L'arlesiana | |
|---|---|
| Opera by Francesco Cilea | |
 Cilea c. 1910 | |
| Librettist | Leopoldo Marenco |
| Language | Italian |
| Based on | Alphonse Daudet's L'Arlésienne |
| Premiere | 27 November 1897 Teatro Lirico, Milan |
L'arlesiana (Italian pronunciation: [larleˈzjaːna]) is an opera in three acts by Francesco Cilea to an Italian libretto by Leopoldo Marenco. It was originally written in four acts, and was first performed on 27 November 1897 at the Teatro Lirico in Milan. It was revised as a three-act opera in 1898, and a prelude was added in 1937.[1]
The opera is based on the play L'Arlésienne (1872) by Alphonse Daudet, which was itself inspired by a short story from his collection Letters From My Windmill (Lettres de mon moulin) and is best known for the incidental music composed by Georges Bizet.
Three famous arias from this opera are the "Lamento di Federico: È la solita storia del pastore" written for a tenor, "Come due tizzi accesi" for a baritone, and for a mezzo-soprano, "Esser madre è un inferno".[1] Additionally, in 2011, the aria "Una mattina" from the 4-act version was added to the present score by the publisher.
- ^ a b Julian Budden, L'arlesiana, in Grove Music Online, accessed 10 April 2007.