Verdi Opera Luisa Miller

Giuseppe Verdi's Opera Luisa Miller

This day, on December 8, 1849, the 3-act opera Luisa Miller by Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi premieres in Teatro San Carlo, Naples.  It is written to an Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, based on a German play Kabale und Liebe by writer Friedrich von Schiller.

Opera Luisa Miller was Verdi's 15th opera.

Cast of Characters:

• Miller, a retired soldier,  baritone
• Luisa, his daughter,  soprano
• Count Walter,  bass
• Rodolfo, his son,  tenor
• Federica, Duchess of Ostheim, Walter's niece,  mezzo-soprano
• Wurm, Walter's steward,  bass
• Laura, a village girl,  mezzo-soprano
• A peasant,  tenor

Synopsis of Opera Luisa Miller

The time was in the early 17th Century, in the Tyrol

Act 1

Scene 1:  A Village

It's Luisa Miller's birthday. The villagers gather outside her house to serenade her. She loves Carlo, a young man she has met in the village (Lo vidi e'l primo palpito/"I saw him and my heart felt its first thrill of love"). Carlo, being a stranger, worries Luisa's father, Miller. Carlo appears in the crowd and the couple sing of their love t'amo d'amor ch'esprimere / "I love you with a love that words can only express badly").  As the villagers departs to go to a nearby church, Wurm approaches Miller. The courtier is in love with Luisa and wishes to marry her.  Miller tells him that he will never interfere with his daughter's decision (Sacra la scelta è d'un consorte / "The choice of a husband is sacred"). Irritated by his reply, Wurm reveals to Miller that in reality Carlo is Rodolfo, Count Walter's son. Alone, Miller vents his anger (Ah fu giusto il mio sospetto / "Ah! My suspicion was correct").

Scene 2:  Count Walter's Castle

Wurm informs the Count of Rodolfo's love for Luisa. He is ordered to summon the son. The Count expresses his frustration with his son (Il mio sangue la vita darei / "Oh, everything smiles on me"). When Rodolfo arrives, the count insists that Rodolfo is intended to marry Walter's niece Federica, the Duchess of Ostheim.

Hoping that the duchess will have an understanding heart, when he is left alone with her, he confesses that he loves another woman. Unfortunately for Rodolfo, Federica is much in love with him to understand.

Scene 3:  Miller's House

Miller tells his daughter who Rodolfo really is. Rodolfo arrives admitting his deception but swears that his love is sincere. Count Walter enters and confronts his son. Drawing his sword, Miller defends his daughter and Walter orders that both father and daughter be arrested. Rodolfo threatens his father: that if he does not free Luisa, he (Rodolfo) will reveal how Walter became count. Frightened by this, Walter orders that Luisa be freed.

Act 2

Scene 1:  A Room in Miller's Home

Villagers come to Luisa and tell her that her father has been seen being dragged away in chains. Wurm arrives and confirms that Miller is to be executed. But he offers her a bargain: her father's freedom in exchange for a letter in which Luisa declares her love for Wurm and states that she has tricked Rodolfo. Resisting at first (Tu puniscimi, O Signore / "Punish me, o Lord"), she eventually gives in. Cursing and loathing him (A brani, a brani, o perfido / "O perfidious wretch"), Luisa wants nothing but death.

Scene 2: A Room in Count Walter's Castle

At the castle, Walter and Wurm recall how the Count rose to power by killing his own cousin. Wurm also reminds the Count that Rodolfo knows about this.  Duchess Federica and Luisa enter, and the latter confirms the contents of the letter she was forced by Wurm to write, stating that she loves Wurm.

Scene 3:  Rodolfo's Rooms

Rodolfo reads Luisa's letter. Deeply hurt, he orders a servant to summon Wurm. Rodolfo laments the happy times he spent with Luisa (Quando le sere al placido / "When at eventide, in the tranquil glimmer of a starry sky"). He then challenges Wurm to a duel. To avoid the confrontation the courtier fires his pistol in the air.  Count Walter advises Rodolfo to take vengeance by marrying Duchess Federica. In despair, Rodolfo abandons himself to fate (L'ara o l'avella apprestami / "Prepare the altar or the grave for me").

Act 3

A Room in Miller's Home

In the distance echoes of the celebration of Rodolfo and Federica's wedding is heard. Old Miller, freed from prison, returns home. He enters his house and embraces his daughter, then reads the letter she has prepared for Rodolfo. Luisa is determined to take her own life (La tomba e un letto sparso di fiori / "The grave is a bed strewn with flowers"), but Miller manages to persuade her against it. (Duet: La filia, vedi, pentita / "Your child, see, repentant"). Alone now, Luisa continues praying. Rodolfo slips in and unseen pours poison into the water jug on the table. He then asks Luisa if she really wrote the letter in which she declared her love for Wurm. "Yes," the girl replies. Rodolfo drinks a glass of water then passes a glass to Luisa and invites her to drink. Then he tells her that they are both condemned to die. Before she dies, she is able to tell Rodolfo the truth about the letter (Duet: Ah piangi; it tuo dolore / "Weep your sorrow is more justified"). Miller returns and comforts his dying daughter. The three say their prayers and farewells (Trio, Luisa: Padre, ricevi l'estremo addio / "Father, receive my last farewell"; Rodolfo: Ah! tu perdona il fallo mio / "Oh, forgive my sin"; Miller: O figlia, o vita del cor paterno / "Oh, child, life of your father's heart").

Peasants enter with Count Walter and Wurm and before Rodolfo dies, he manages to pierce his sword through Wurm's chest.

TRIVIA:

Other famous operas of Giuseppe Verdi include: Aida, La Traviata, Rigoletto, Nabucco, Simon Boccanegra, Falstaff, Otello, and Un Ballo de Maschera.




Video Credit:

Verdi Opera Luisa Miller, Ricciarelli Domingo Bruson Connell Maazel. YouTube, uploaded by Katia Ricciarelli Tribute. Accessed June 24, 2018.


Resources:

• Holden, Amanda (Ed.), The New Penguin Opera Guide, New York: Penguin Putnam, 2001.


• Phillips-Matz, Mary Jane, Verdi: A Biography.  London & New York: Oxford University Press, 1993.


• Warrack, John and West, Ewan, The Oxford Dictionary of Opera.  New York: OUP: 1992.

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