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Il Guarany (The Guarany) is an opera ballo composed by Antônio Carlos Gomes, based on the novel O Guarani by José de Alencar. Its libretto, in Italian rather than Gomes' native Portuguese, was written by Antonio Scalvini and Carlo D'Ormeville. The work is notable as the first Brazilian opera to gain acclaim outside Brazil.[1] Maria Alice Volpe has analysed the historical subtext of the indianism movement behind Il Guarany.[1]
| Il Guarany | |
|---|---|
| Opera by Antônio Carlos Gomes | |
 Cover of the score | |
| Librettist |
|
| Language | Italian |
| Based on | José de Alencar's O Guarani |
| Premiere | |
The operatic version of the story takes place near Rio de Janeiro in 1560, and the plot centers around an interracial love story between Pery, a Guarani indian prince, and Cecilia, the daughter of a Portuguese nobleman. The work emphasizes the Romanticized concept of the "noble savage" in an exotic Brazilian tropical setting as well as the concept of racial miscegenation, which had been a significant part of Brazilian life since the country's inception. In the Overture to the opera, Gomes creates a Romantic Indianist atmosphere over an Italian orchestral backdrop as he introduces intimate lyrical passages in the winds and strings contrasted by tempestuous dramatic moments that utilize the full dynamic range of the orchestra.
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The world premiere took place at La Scala, Milan, on 19 March 1870 and was a tremendous success, which resulted in immediate international fame for Gomes and numerous performances of the work in opera theaters throughout Europe. Among the productions, it was performed at the Zagreb theater in 1883 and 1886.[2] The first Brazilian performance was in Rio de Janeiro on 2 December 1870, at the Theatro D. Pedro II. More recently, in 1996, Il Guarany was mounted by the Washington National Opera with Plácido Domingo in the role of Pery.[3]
The duet "Sento una forza indomita" for tenor and soprano was in the recorded repertoire of Francesco Marconi with Bice Mililotti, 1908, and of Enrico Caruso with Emmy Destinn, 1914.[4]
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| Role | Voice type | Premiere cast, 19 March 1870[5] Conductor: Eugenio Terziani |
|---|---|---|
| Dom Antonio de Mariz, a Portuguese nobleman | bass | Teodoro Coloni |
| Cecilia, his daughter | soprano | Marie Sasse |
| Peri, son of the Guarani tribal chief | tenor | Giuseppe Villani |
| Gonzales, a Spanish adventurer | baritone | Enrico Storti |
| Il Cacico, chief of the Aymoré Indians | bass | Victor Maurel |
| Alonso | bass | Severino Mazza |
| Don Alvaro | tenor | Giuseppe Masato |
| Ruy-Bento | tenor | Annibale Micheloni |
| Pedro | bass | Severino Mazza |
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