Gomes's Lo Schiavo

In the long tome of human history, the chapter on slavery is one of the longest, cruelest, and most unforgivable—still tragically current in parts of the world, its legacy reverberates deeply and painfully in just about every country on Earth. In Brazil, slavery was abolished in 1888 with the Lei Áurea (Golden Law), and the following year, penned by a native son, Lo Schiavo (The Slave) premiered in Rio de Janeiro. Born of the imagination of composer Carlos Gomes with a libretto by Rodolfo Paravicini, based on a theatrical play by Alredo d'Escragnolle Taunay, the opera transports us to the 16th century, the era of Portuguese colonialism.

Young colonist Américo, interpreted by the marvelous Massimiliano Pisapia, is in love with Amazonian Ilara, played with great sensitivity by Svetla Vassileva. Their journey is fraught with challenges, due in part to the machinations of the Contessa di Boissy, as well as to the tense relationship between the Portuguese and the Amazonians. Enjoy the deep, resonant low range of the voices on prominent display: basses Dongho Kim and Francesco Musinu, and baritones Andrea Borghini and Daniele Terenzi. Davide Garattini Raimondi's staging places us right away in the heart of the action in this first-ever production in Italy, the composer's adopted homeland...