JELIN Gelindo in Opera (Aldo Brizzi) Alessandria 2021 Emilio Marcucci, Andrea Calce, Sergei Mozorov, Luigi Pisapia

Information on the Performance

• Work Title: JELIN Gelindo in Opera  
• Composer: Brizzi Aldo  
• Libretto: Aldo Brizzi, Bruno Masi, loosely based on the Divòta Cumédia del Gelindo by the Capuchin monks of Alessandria    Libretto Text, Libretto Index
• Venue & Opera Company: Teatro Alessandrino, Alessandria, Italy  
• Recorded: September 17, 2021
• Type: Staged Opera Live
• Singers: Emilio Marcucci, Andrea Calce, Sergei Mozorov, Luigi Pisapia, Graca Reis, Luciana Pansa, Silvia Lee
• Conductor: Aldo Brizzi  
• Orchestra: Orchestra Filarmonica del Lago di Como  
• Stage Director: Cornelia Geiser  
• Stage Designer: Giacomo Callari  
• Costume Designer: Anita Tournour Viron  
• Lighting Designer: Alessandro Vittori  

Information about the Recording

• Published by: TV France  
• Date Published: 2024  
• Format: Broadcast
• Quality Video: 4 Audio:4
• Subtitles: nosubs  
• This Recording is NOT AVAILABLE from a proper commercial or public source
•  

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THIS PERFORMANCE

Jelin – Gelindo in opera is an opera in two acts by Aldo Brizzi (music), who also wrote the libretto together with Bruno Masi . The text is a modern version of the Christmas story from the perspective of the shepherds and is loosely based on the Divòta Cumédia del Gelindo by the Capuchin monks of Alessandria. The opera premiered on September 17, 2021 at the Teatro Alessandrino in Alessandria .

SYNOPSIS
Prologue
The narrator explains that the ancient Egyptians called areas of land unknown to them the “Lands of the Foreign Goddess.” Sara lives there in an everyday routine and collects water from the well every day along a muddy path. She herself says that in a dream she visited lands she had never seen, far away in space and time, and found the ultimate secret there. One day on her way to the well she saw a comet and tried to follow it. When her family finally found her again, she spoke of new worlds beyond the horizon, lit by the new star. Then everyone gave up their usual world and followed her.

First Act
The shepherd Jelin tells his two assistants Maicon and Mané that he has to go to Bethlehem because Herod has ordered that all heads of families register themselves, their relatives and their employees in the census. It’s definitely about a tax. Therefore he will take a basket of cheese with him so that he can pay for them. Before he leaves, he instills in the two of them a few rules of conduct: they should not celebrate any parties, not touch his wine, let no one into the house and look after his son Nomine. As soon as Jelin has left, the two invite their guitar-playing neighbor Jefferson, his friends and a few dancers to the party and take Jelin’s wine. So that he doesn’t notice anything, they refill the hoses with water (like last time).

On the way back from Bethlehem, Jelin is stopped by Roman soldiers and has to answer questions. A little later he meets an unknown man who asks him for help for himself and his heavily pregnant wife because he could not find any accommodation in Bethlehem. Although Jelin initially thinks he is a Roman spy, he shows him the way to a small shepherds’ shelter. After learning the couple’s names (Maria and Giuseppe), Jelin says goodbye. He feels strangely touched by this encounter. While Giuseppe searches for the hut, Maria sings a prophetic song about her unborn son.

When Jelin returns, his employees’ party is still in full swing. He gets angry, but at the same time he is tired from the strenuous journey. Then angels appear and announce the birth of the Messiah , the King of the Jews. Jelin’s son Nomine comes home from a football game and says that the angels appeared there too. But he didn’t fully understand what she was saying: The new king is said to have been born in a hut near Bethlehem. Jelin immediately remembers his encounter with Maria and Giuseppe. He decides to go back with Jefferson to bring them gifts. When Nomine asks to take him with her, Jelin initially refuses, but then gets changed by Jefferson. Maicon also wants to come along, but Jelin insists that he catch up on the neglected work with Mané. When the two are alone, Maicon doesn’t think about work at all, but sings a song about his longing for Bethlehem.

Second Act
It’s late evening. Sara and her family are on a journey to the lands of the distant goddess. Jelin, Jefferson and Nomine meet them in the desert. Since it’s hard to see anything in the dark, they initially mistake Sara and her relatives for wolves. Nomine speaks to Sara and then calms the men down. They now believe Sara is a migrant. A little later the three meet a figure again. She turns out to be Maicon, who ignored Jelin’s order and followed them to see the newborn child. Nomine and Jefferson persuade Jelin to let him join the group. He should sing something to the child. The four of them practice some songs. Nomine also wants to sing something, and Jefferson and Maicon play guitar.

The shepherds come to the hut where the child has now been born. They give Maria and Giuseppe the gifts they brought with them and sing their songs. Before saying goodbye, Maicon takes a photo that he wants to publish on the “Holy Family” social media . He hopes for billions of likes and great wealth. This makes Jelin angry, especially since Mané is not with them and couldn’t see the child.

Mané is at work when there is a knock on the door and the Three Wise Men ask to be let in. They followed a star to this hut to find the newborn King of the Jews. Mané realizes that it is the child that Jelin and the others went to. Since he doesn’t know the way to the other hut, he asks the men to wait for him to return and gets wine. Jelin arrives a little later. Since he doesn’t trust the men, he claims to know nothing about kings and directs them to a nearby pub where they might be able to get information. But when Mané explains to him that this king is the child they had just visited, he asks Maicon to follow the men and show them the way. Roman soldiers break into the hut, refer to Herod’s order to kill all children under the age of two, and wreak havoc. Jelin is horrified. He recognizes which child it is and sets off with the other shepherds to defend it.

The three kings present the child with their gifts: gold as a sign of royalty, frankincense as a sign of divinity and myrrh as a sign of permanence. After the ceremony, an angel appears to Giuseppe in a dream, warning him of Herod’s order to kill the child and asking him to move to Egypt with his family. He believes that there is a divine plan behind everything and Herod is just a tool. They are on their way. When Sara arrives, she finds the hut empty. She remembers a dream that foretold her a daughter named Mary Magdalene. Next a Roman soldier appears who is looking for the child, but has to leave without having achieved anything. The shepherds no longer meet anyone either. They fear they have come too late, but the angels assure them that the King of the Jews is safe and on his way to Egypt. Meanwhile, Maicon met Sara and fell in love with her. He joins her to “visit places far away in time never seen before and find the greatest secret there.” Jelin thinks he’s crazy, but Sara explains that she’s been waiting for him for many lifetimes.