Le Villi

With his first stage work "Le Villi," the young Giacomo Puccini struck a chord with his contemporaries. His sure sense for moving melodies made him a beacon of hope for a new generation of Italian opera composers. He masterfully set the gruesome yet beautiful legend of an unfaithful fiancée who is killed by the frenzied dance of the Willi's - elemental spirits haunting the Black Forest - to compelling music. On October 13, a few weeks before the hundredth anniversary of the composer's death on November 29, 2024, the Munich Radio Orchestra presented a concert version of the two-act version of "Le Villi" in the Prinzregententheater. Anita Hartig, Kang Wang and Boris Pinkhasovich performed the solo parts; the Bavarian Radio Choir participated; conducted by the chief conductor of the Munich Radio Orchestra, Ivan Repušić. BR-KLASSIK now presents the live recording of this extraordinary concert on cd on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the great Italian composer's death. "Le Villi" was composed in the autumn of 1883. The 25-year-old Puccini, who had just passed his final exams at the Milan Conservatory, participated in a competition for one-act operas organized by publisher Sonzogno, but came away empty-handed. The premiere of the one-act opera on May 31, 1884 at the Teatro dal Verme in Milan was nevertheless a sensational success, as the music is remarkable for its charming melodies and tonal magic. Admittedly, the dramaturgy of this "opera ballo" was probably too unusual for a lasting stage career. The sensational success faded quickly and could not be revived even after various revisions (the two-act version from 1884, which was first performed on December 26, 1884 at the Teatro Regio in Turin, forms the basis of this recording). Nevertheless, this first work paved the way for all of Puccini's later opera triumphs.