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Composer / Librettist: Leonard Bernstein (1918-1990) Premiere: 12 June 1952, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA A late curtain: The premiere performance started at 11pm, following a long festival about the state of the arts in America. It was not a success, perhaps owing to an exhausted audience. Live on TV: Bernstein conducted a live telecast of the opera in November 1952. Happy family memories: The married couple is said to be based on Bernstein's parents: Sam was the name of his father; Dinah was originally called "Jennie," which was his mother's name. Dinah is his maternal grandmother's name. Bernstein was working on the opera during his honeymoon. Other theatre works by Bernstein: On the Town (1944), Wonderful Town (1953), Candide (1956), West Side Story (1957), 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue (1976), A Quiet Place (1983). Revisiting the piece: Bernstein wrote A Quiet Place in 1983, which involves some of the same characters many years later, following the death of Dinah, and incorporates all of Trouble in Tahiti as Sam's Act II flashback.
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Translation of Italian title: The Clowns Composer / Libretto: Ruggero Leoncavallo (1857-1919) Premiere: 21 May 1892, Teatro Dal Verme, Milan U.S. premiere: 1893, New York Inspiration for the story (according to Leoncavallo): An incident in the Calabrian village of Montalto, over which his father Vincenzo had served as magistrate. Inspiration for the story (according to the lawsuit): Author Catulle Mendès unsuccessfully sued Leoncavallo for plagiarism, claiming he had based the opera on Mendès' La femme du tabarin (1887). No, I get the last line: The final line of the opera, "La commedia é finita! (The play is over)" was originally sung by Tonio. Enrico Caruso, famous worldwide for his Canio portrayal in the 1910s and 1920s, appropriated the line for himself, and it has usually remained with the tenor ever since. Name that tune: "Vesti la giubba," Canio's aria (the one famous for the line "Ridi, pagliaccio"), has appeared endless times in popular culture. For example: |