FULL Zazà (Leoncavallo) Potsdam NY 2022 Crane Opera Ensemble
Information on the Performance
- Work Title: Zazà
- Composer: Leoncavallo Ruggero
- Libretto: Ruggero Leoncavallo Libretto Text, Libretto Index
- Venue & Opera Company: Proscenium Theater in SUNY Potsdam’s Performing Arts Center, New York State, The Crane Opera Ensemble
- Recorded: March 24, 2022
- Type: Staged Opera Live
- Singers: Olivia Capozzi, Ben Johnson, Nathan Strock, Naomi Steele, Gabriella Toriseva, Zara Smith, Joseph Carney, Noah Unser, Reykwaan Adorno, Daniel Emmons, Rebecca Fox, Alyssa Bonfardeci, David Salce, Rebecca Matte, Faith Tomasula, Nicholas Hausman
- Conductor: Brock Tjosvold
- Orchestra: Jeffrey Hinkle, PIANO
- Stage Director: Anthony Eversole
- Stage Designer: Todd Canedy
- Costume Designer: Emily Bailey
- Lighting Designer: Tom Grabowski
Information about the Recording
- Published by: Crane Opera Ensemble
- Date Published: 2022
- Format: Streaming
- Quality Video: 3 Audio:3
- Subtitles: nosubs
- Video Recording from: YouTube FULL VIDEO
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THIS PERFORMANCE
The Opera
Zazà is based on a popular 1898 play by Pierre Berton and Charles Simon. The play received many adaptations in the years following its premiere at the Théâtre de Vaudeville in Paris. Leoncavallo, an innovator of the verismo movement gained his fame through his great success Pagliacci. He later adapted Zazà in 1900. As usual with his operas, Leoncavallo wrote his own libretto. Zazà was a popular hit with a spot in the repertory until about the 1920s.
The Plot
Zazà is the tale of a popular music hall singer in St. Etienne, France who, after falling for the handsome patron Milio Dufresne, begins an intensely passionate relationship with him. Later, her world is turned upside down when she discovers that not only is Milio married, but he also has a young daughter. In the final act, Zazà’s own childhood trauma of growing up fatherless battles with her attachment to Milio and deep fear of losing him.
