Catalogue by Genre
Stage
Orchestra
Chamber Orchestra
Chamber Music
Vocal Compositions
Music for Solo Instrument
Stage
Op. 22
Il filo
Il filo (1987)
Ballet in one movement
Texts by Filippo Candiani
Scoring: Female Voice, Perc, Guit, Pno, Strings (or 2Vln, Vla, Vlc, D-B)
Duration: ca. 10m 35s
Premiere (earlier version): Barga (Lucca), Festival Opera Barga, 07-22-1987 Walter Alberti, Bar; Boris Anifantakis, Cond
Riccardo Riccardi
Gruppo Cameristico Veneto
Direttore: Pietro Perini
Edipan 1991
Già la notte d’intorno
Dieloquio
Libero arbitrio
Tre cadenze in forma di canzona
Sovrattempo
Ad libitum
Due sonetti
Trio concertante
Triomagno
Il filo
Op. 28
Il sogno di Sarah (1989, Rev. 1998)
Four scenic pictures
Texts freely drawn from Caprice by Ronald Firbank
I – La lettera
II – Amore a Bakerloo
III – Il tradimento
IV – Se mi piace l’America?
Scoring: Sop, Alto-Fl/Clar/Vln, Pno
Total duration: ca. 8m 30s
Op. 30
La meraviglia e il dubbio
La meraviglia e il dubbio (1990 – 1992)
Scenic cantata in two parts
Texts by Renzo Ricchi
Characters: Echo/ Voice of recollection/Voice from the woodland shadows, soprano; Narcissus, tenor; Knight, bass; First nymph/first fairy, soprano; Second nymph/second fairy, soprano; Third nymph/third fairy, contralto; Young women’s chorus/chorus of fairies, sopranos and contraltos.
Instrumentation: Fl, Perc, Guit, Hapschd, Strings (or 2Vln, Vla, Vlc, D-B)
Duration: ca. 60m
Premiere: Firenze, Palazzo Vecchio, 05-08-1993
Kate Lafferty Gamberucci, Sop; Massimo La Guardia, Ten; Duccio Dal Monte, Bs; Anita Venturi, Ghang Chiung Wen, Costanza Redini, Vocal trio
Coro e Orchestra dell’Accademia Musicale di Firenze: Francesco Rizzi, Cond
Op. 31
Il brutto anatroccolo
Il brutto anatroccolo (1991, Rev. e Orch. 2008)
Ballet in five scenes and three interludes
Libretto drawn from Hans Christian Andersen
Characters:
Dancers: The ugly duckling, soloist; Mamma duck, Daddy duck, The ducklings, Animals of the courtyard, First gander, Second gander, Old woman, Swans, Farmer, Farmer’s children, Farmer’s wife (the dancers play multiple roles)
Singers: First animal of the courtyard/First swan, soprano; Second animal of the courtyard/Hen/ Second swan, mezzo-soprano; Third animal of the courtyard /Voice of the ganders/Cat, baritone; Swans, boys’ or women’s choir
Instrumentation: Fl, Ob (also Eng-Hn), Cl, Bsn, Alto-Sax, Timp and Perc (1performer), El-Guit, Pno, Strings (3.3.2.2.1. minimum)
Duration: ca. 52m
Premiere: see Suite entitled Ma come è grande il mondo! (op. 31 bis).
Op. 39
L’Avvenimento (1996)
Poem in twelve sections
Texts drawn from Vincent Van Gogh and Rainer Maria Rilke
Scoring: (can be a single performer) Narrator, Pno
Total duration: ca. 52m
Premiere: Arcosanti (Arizona), Colly Soleri Music Center, Pianist Composers from Italy and America, 05-11-1996
Riccardo Riccardi, Narrator and Pno
Section 6 of this work uses Scherzo II (Op. 26, n. 2); section 8 uses Scherzo I (Op. 26, n.1); and section 9 uses the Postludio – nel ricordo di un violino (Op. 38).
Op. 41
Le donne di Van Gogh
Opera in one act and epilogue
Le donne di Van Gogh (1996-2020)
Opera in one act and epilogue
Libretto by Riccardo Riccardi drawn from the letters by Vincent Van Gogh to his brother Theo, and from critical essays about the painter
Characters: The man/the artist, bass-baritone; The Virgin/the vacillator, soprano; The archangel/the assured, soprano; Narrator, actor/actress
Vincent/Third voice, baritone/actor; Kee/Will/First voice, soprano;
Sien/Mother/Margot/Second voice, mezzosoprano; First narrator/Third critic, actor/actress;
Second narrator/Fourth critic, actor; Eugenie/First critic, actress; Anne/Second critic, actress critic
Or:
Vincent/Third voice, baritone/actor; Kee/Will/Eugenie/First critic, soprano/actress; Sien/Mother/Anne/Margot/Secondo critic, mezzosoprano/actress; First narrator/ Third critic, actor /actress; Second narrator/Fourth critic, actor
Instrumentation: Hn, Org, Pno, Vln, Vla, Vlc, D-B (or String Orchestra)
Duration: ca. 65m
Premiere (in an earlier version entitled L’Avvenimento – Opera): San Gimignano (Siena), Teatro dei Leggieri, 05-24-1997
Tina Sammartini, Simonida Miletich, Sop; Leonardo Sagliocca, Bs; Marcellina Ruocco, Narrator and Director
Cameristi dell’Accademia Musicale di Firenze: Riccardo Cirri, Cond
Van Gogh’s Women
A kind of opera in one act and epilogue
Van Gogh feels like a bird in a cage (L’uccello in gabbia), a prisoner of his inability to act. This is when he starts painting and when he is desperately looking for teachers, but he will end up arguing with all of them.
Van Gogh had trouble all his life in his relations with women. He fell hopelessly in love without considering the feelings of the women who were the objects of his obsessive attentions (Kee e Sien). His love for Kee, his newly widowed cousin, was an example of his behavior. She was forced to hide in order to protect herself from his persistence. However, Kee’s refusal was balanced by Sien’s gratitude—a prostitute Van Gogh picked up in The Hague on a cold January night. In a fictional scene, the two women talk to Vincent and to each other, comparing their contrasting realities. Kee was afraid of Vincent’s madness. Sien had no choice of her own and the only task he asked her to perform was to pose for him. But their fading love ended, opposed by Van Gogh’s family (L’appassire dell’amore), and Vincent left The Hague.
Van Gogh then moves to Provence and is fascinated by the colors of those southern landscapes (I colori della pittura). He identifies so much with his descriptions of colors that his writings about them become true poetry.
His descent into madness, however, deepens. During a hospital stay, he begins to hear voices (Verso il delirio: le voci) and childhood memories return: times he went with his mother and brothers to paint the flowers in the garden. With his mother he talks about the difficult relationship he had with his father. He hears echoes of his sister, Anne, and of Eugenie, his unrequited first love, whom he met while staying in London. He also hears Wil, his youngest sister who, like Vincent, always struggled with her mental health. He talks about madness as the fate of their family. During these hallucinations, Van Gogh continues to see his his past (Le allucinazioni continuano) and another love materializes, Margot Bogeman. She’s perhaps the only one who returns his feelings but she’s opposed by both families, Van Gogh’s and hers.
Vincent is tired of Provence and returns to the North, settling in a town less than an hour by train from Paris (La fine). There he will die from a gunshot wound in the summer of 1890.
Without music and without singing (Epilogo) a group of art historians gather around a table and comment on the reception that Van Gogh’s painting has received since his death. They read snippets of criticism and discuss them, ending their comments in a great vocal fugue with instrumental accompaniment.
Op. 50
The Man Who Loved Islands (2004)
Text drawn from David Herbert Lawrence
Scoring: Narrators (from 1 to 3), Pno
Duration: ca. 38m
Premiere: Baltimore (Maryland), Peabody Conservatory, 11-18-2004
Andrew Cole, Russel Nadel, Melody West, Narrators; Damon Ferrante, Pno
Op. 52
The Man Who Loved Islands (2006)
Narrative-Opera
Libretto by Riccardo Riccardi drawn from David Herbert Lawrence
Spoken texts in English, sung texts in Italian. (The texts in English may be spoken in any language)
Scoring: Narrator, Sop; Orch: Fl, Ob/Eng-Hn, Cl, Bs-Cl, Bsn, Hn, Tpt, Trb, Timp, Perc (1 performer), Hp, Pno, Strings (4.4.3.2.1. minimum)
Duration: ca. 62m
Premiere: Latina, Teatro Comunale, 05-12-2006
Nino Bernardini, Narrator; Satoko Shikama, Sop, Orchestra Giuseppe Tartini: Lauro Graziosi, Cond
This work, written in 2005, expands Riccardi’s earlier work for three actors and piano, The Man Who Loved Islands – Melologue. In the new work the narration is given to a single actor and a soprano adds an emotion-filled commentary.
SYNOPSIS
The Man Who Loved Islands tells the story of a man who, tired of civilization, decides to move to an island and make it a small perfect world, a world in his own image and likeness. The man seems to be happy, at least during the day, but his nights are crowded with ghosts foretelling misfortune. His hired hands, under a guise of respect, see the hostility and plot fraud. Soon he realizes they have all swindled him. He is bankrupt and forced to move. Instead of returning to the mainland, he goes to an even smaller island
with the companionship of few trustworthy people. Nothing in particular seems to happen, so he wonders whether a lack of desire is the true happiness. But one day this calm is also shaken. A woman who has followed him succeeds in attracting his attention. He lets himself enter into a passive relationship without enthusiasm, nothing that resembles the ideal meeting of two souls when there is a “true, delicate desire between them.” This relationship, endured and not really wanted, besmirches and spoils this
second island. He grows uneasy and has to leave it. He goes straight north to a third
island—just a few acres of rock with a hut, and inhabited only by a half dozen sheep. At last he is alone. He can no longer bear contact with the living. Near the end of winter a snowstorm strikes and lasts for days. The man struggles desperately against the fury of the elements…
Op. 53
Il ritorno di Casanova
Il ritorno di Casanova (2006 – 2009)
Opera in two acts and epilogue
Libretto by Riccardo Riccardi drawn from Arthur Schnitzler
Characters: Casanova, bass-baritone ; Amalia, soprano; Olivo, tenor; Marchese, bass; Marcolina, soprano; Lorenzi, baritone; Abate Rossi, basso buffo; The first of the Riccardi brothers, tenor; Marchesa, mezzo-soprano ; The Maid, extra; The second of the Riccardi brothers, extra.
Orchestra: Ob, Eng-Hn (also 2°Ob), Cl (also Bs-Cl) Bsn, Hn, Tpt, Trbn, Timp, Perc (1performer), El-Guit, Synth, Strings (6.6.4.4.2. minimum)
Duration: ca. 2h 15m
This opera came to birth after a very long gestation. Riccardi had begun working as early as 1998/1999 on a libretto for a grand opera on the figure of Giacomo Casanova. He was fascinated by two works by Arthur Schnitzler: the theater piece, Die Schwestern oder Casanova in Spa, that portrays Casanova in the flower of youth and the story, Casanovas Heimfahrt, that follows Casanova in decline. After numerous creative vicissitudes, Riccardi realized this project in 2006, choosing only the second text as the source for his own libretto.
SYNOPSIS
The action takes place in the last quarter of the XVIII century in a villa near Mantua.
Casanova, fifty-three years old, is returning to Venice after a long exile. He stops at a villa outside the city of Mantua where Olivo lives with his wife, Amalia, and their daughters. In the villa the adventurer meets Marcolina, the young and beautiful niece of Olivo. She stuns him with her cultural depth. Abate Rossi, an ecclesiastical figure, arrives and joins the company. Amalia is, in truth, a former lover of Casanova’s; seeing him again after sixteen years, she declares her unchanged love for him. Casanova makes fun of her and mocks himself since he has become an old man. Olivo expresses his gratitude to Casanova who, many years before, had lent him a sum that had assured Olivo’s future. In the meantime the Marchese arrives who, since youth, had wanted to measure himself against Casanova, but had never met him. A bit later the Marchese’s wife and lieutenant Lorenzi also arrive. Their intimate talking doesn’t leave any doubt about their relationship. After dinner the men start gambling. Casanova at first seems to win, then loses everything to the Marchese. Casanova retires in his room where he gets lost in an emotional reflection on his own existence, until sleep finally overtakes him.
Casanova awakes at dawn and is attracted by a noise along the garden wall. From his balcony, he sees a male figure climbing from Marcolina’s window: it’s Lorenzi. Later Olivo visits Casanova and repays his old debt. That morning Casanova receives a letter: the Consiglio dei Dieci in Venice has granted him permission to return provided that he act as an informer for the Senate. Once again the men sit around the table gambling. When the game is over Lorenzi owes the Marchese two-thousand ducats, the same sum that the Marchese owes to Casanova. The lieutenant promises the Marchese to pay the huge debt the next day, leaving as a pledge two rings that the Marchese recognizes as presents he had given his wife. Outside the room, Casanova offers a deal to Lorenzi: he will pay the two thousand ducats in exchange for a night with Marcolina. She won’t suspect anything because they will meet in the dark and Casanova will disappear before dawn. After a long hesitation the lieutenant accepts. During dinner Casanova invites Olivo and Amalia to visit him in Venice. He says he plans to depart that very evening. Olivo asks Casanova to recount some of his adventures before he leaves.
As planned, Casanova slips into Marcolina’s room late at night. However he fails to awaken before dawn and Marcolina discovers the deception. Casanova flees in embarrassment. Blocking his way is Lorenzi, lately repented, who challenges him to a duel. Lorenzi cannot be dissuaded. Swords are unsheathed and the young man is vanquished: pierced through the heart. All that remains for Casanova is to close Lorenzi’s eyes and turn to face the last years of his life.
Op. 58
Odisseo
Odisseo (2008)
Opera in a prologue, three tableaux, and epilogue
Libretto by Riccardo Riccardi freely drawn from Homer’s Odyssey
Characters: Odisseo, bass-baritone; Calipso, mezzo-soprano; Nausicaa, soprano; First coryphea/First handmaid, soprano; Second coryphea, soprano; Third coryphea, contralto; Chorus/Chorus of the handmaids, sopranos and contraltos
Or
Odisseo, bass-baritone; Calipso, mezzo-soprano; Nausicaa, soprano; First coryphea/First handmaid, soprano; Second coryphea/Second handmaid, soprano; Third coryphea/Third handmaid, contralto; Fourth coryphea/Fourth handmaid, soprano; Fifth coryphea/Fifth handmaid mezzo-soprano or contralto
Orchestra: Fl, Ob/Eng-Hn, Cl/Bs-Cl, Bsn, Hn, Perc, El-Guit, Hpschd/Keyboard, Strings (3.3.2.2.1. minimum)
Duration: ca. 1h 15m
Odisseo is Riccardi’s second opera on a mythological subject. It follows his earlier work, La meraviglia e il dubbio, from which it draws a few of its musical ideas.
In this opera the classical myth is varied from Homer’s original, both in the plot and in focusing on the psychological aspect of the characters.
SYNOPSIS
The leader of the chorus tells the audience what the opera is about and recounts the return journey of the great Odysseus to his homeland.
After seven years, during which Odysseus has shared days and nights with Calypso, the nymph offers him immortality on the condition that he remain with her on her island. Odysseus rejects the offer. He prefers to return to Ithaca and pursue his destiny. He wants neither to escape death, nor to stop time. He chooses the nostalgia of his memories, conscious that this too will become a memory. Calypso understands Odysseus’ reasons and cannot bear to see him weeping by the seashore any longer. She lets him go and helps him build a raft to confront the sea.
After seventeen days at sea and within sight of the land of the Phaeacians, Odysseus is beset by a tremendous storm. Seeing death so near, he reflects on his past life and considers the dreams he still has for the future. He doesn’t regret the suffering his freedom may cost him, nor does he regret having rejected immortality. He doesn’t feel superior to the immortal gods, but he wouldn’t want to take their place either. He prefers to struggle to reach his goals. For two days he fights with all his might against the fury of the waves. When finally overcome, he can only entrust himself to the will of the gods. At last a god takes pity on him and transports him to a seashore where he falls into a deep sleep.
Odysseus is found and rescued by Nausicaa, the young daughter of the Phaeacian King, who was playing with her handmaidens at the seashore. For the girl, this is the encounter with the man she had seen as her spouse in a prescient dream. For Odysseus, dazzled by her beauty, Nausicaa represents a future that he perhaps wouldn’t dare to choose. Nausicaa and Odysseus ask themselves –with the choir’s participation– whether destiny can be changed. Unlike the version in the Greek myth, Nausicaa successfully fulfills her dream by making Odysseus her husband, but then she agrees that he must leave to follow his destiny. The opera ends with the narrator telling that Odysseus is sitting again at the seashore after having returned to Ithaca, thinking of Calypso, Circe and Nausicaa. He dreams of undertaking a new journey in search of his past.
Op. 59
Talk Show
Talk Show (2009)
Opera in one act
Libretto by Riccardo Riccardi inspired by Rainer Maria Rilke
Characters: Moderator, mezzo-soprano; Walter, bass; Stanislao, tenor; Caterina, coloratura soprano; Eugenia, soprano; Mr. Savant, baritone; Outsider, baritone; Director, cameramen, sound and light engineers, photographers
Instrumentation: Hn, Accord, Synth, Strings (or Vln, Vla, Vlc, D-B)
Duration: ca. 1h 10m
Premiere: Lucca, Complesso di San Micheletto, 09-04-2009
Laura Dalfino, Mirella De Vita, Sop; Sara Bacchelli, Mez; Marco Voleri, Ten; Fabrizio Corucci, Andrea Paolucci, Bar; Massimiliano Galli, Bs; Orchestra: Contempoartensemble: Mauro Ceccanti, Cond; Rosanna Monti, Set design and costumes; Valerio Valoriani, Dir; Maria Teresa Elena, Live TV Dir
The inspiration for this opera comes from Central European literature. To be explicit, these two sources: Das Ereignis. Eine ereignislose Geschichte and Und doch in den Tod, short-stories from Totentänze by Rainer Maria Rilke. The action in the first of Rilke’s stories takes place in the parlor of a noblewoman at the beginning of the XX century. Each guest must recount an event in his own life. In Riccardi’s adaptation the setting is changed to a modern reality show, a Talk Show. In place of Rilke’s genteel characters, Riccardi’s characters are participants in a television reality show, recounting their tales and unwittingly revealing their personalities. The Talk Show ends with an episode from Rilke’s second story. A husband, crazed with jealousy, discovers by chance that the man who is trying to dissuade him from committing suicide is, in fact, the man his wife has taken as her lover.
SYNOPSIS
In a television studio the new episode of a reality show is about to begin. Three famous guests and two people taken at random from among the audience of the live broadcast are invited to talk on camera about an important event in their lives. The show is moderated by a woman who directs the sequence of the interviews and the pacing of the episode. A famous artist begins and tells of a bitter episode in his adolescence. The second is a journalist and screenwriter. His tale is about his love of a woman who drove him nearly mad, but whom he forgot when he meet another woman who is the true love of his life. It’s then the turn of a winner of a chance to appear on the show, a very narcissistic woman who is unsatisfied in her difficult marriage.
After her, the moderator invites one of the guests chosen at random to speak, but although he had agreed to be chosen, now he is reluctant to talk. He believes he has nothing very interesting to say. He has waited his whole life for even a small event that might give his life some meaning, but nothing has ever happened to him. Sometimes he was even on the verge of committing a crime, solely to provoke a shock in his gray and sad existence.
The last woman interviewed, another person randomly drawn from the audience, confesses that she had never expected any singular event in her life. She had already had everything she wanted: a husband she loved and a peaceful existence—perhaps even banal. After three years of an idyllic life together, she had only wanted that life to continue unchanged and was certainly unprepared for anything as tragic as what had actually happened. To become a widow so young.
Suddenly an outsider breaks into the studio. He is armed and wants, at all costs, to be heard before the cameras. Waving a gun, while everyone reacts in fright, he says, almost sobbing, that his wife betrays him. Only the journalist is courageous enough to approach and try to calm him. The journalist tells him how he too once considered carrying out an ill-considered act for a woman with whom he was madly in love but who had disappeared without a trace. Eventually the journalist had succeeded in forgetting her. The gunman begins to grow calmer, but before he has put the gun down, the journalist mentions that he felt complete apathy when, just few days before, Elena—the name of his lost love—had called to tell him that she had moved to Corpolò. At the sound of his wife’s name and the name of the village, the gunman, in a fit of complete insanity, kills himself.
The moderator tries to discover Elena’s telephone number from the journalist. The opera ends with her promise of a phone interview with the widow of the dead man. The show must go on!
Op. 61
F.S.S.P.A.
Opera in one act
F.S.S.P.A. (2010)
Opera in one act
Libretto by Riccardo Riccardi
Characters: Woman traveler (40 years), mezzo-soprano; Male traveler (50 years), baritone; Commuter/Policeman, tenor; Waitress/Speaker, contralto; Young woman traveler, soprano;
Policemen, ticket agents, customers of the cafe, crowd of travelers, chorus
Or
Woman traveler (40 years), soprano; Male traveler (50 years), tenor; Commuter/Policeman, tenor; Waitress/Speaker, mezzo-soprano; Young woman traveler, soprano;
Policemen, ticket agents, customers of the cafe, crowd of travelers, chorus
Orchestra: Picc, 2Fl, 2Ob, 2Cl, 2Bsn, 4Hn, 2Tpt, 3Trb, Tba, Timp, Perc, Hp, Strings
Duration: ca. 40m
Riccardi started writing the libretto for F.S.S.P.A. at the end of 2009, immediately after finishing his opera Talk Show. His thought was to lay the second stone in a “triptych of triviality.” F.S.S.P.A. is a one-act opera set in a train station and using the vocal forces—five singers and chorus—of Cavalleria Rusticana. The set design also follows that of Mascagni’s opera: on one side is the ticket office instead of a church; on the other, the station café instead of a tavern. It is an opera buffa that depicts situations often experienced by travelers in Italian train stations.
At the ticket office of the station, a crowd is in line to purchase their tickets. The travelers are complaining of the endless waiting. They complain because most of the windows remain closed, in spite of the crowd.
A young woman, dressed in an affected and provocative style, arrives breathless. She asks a man at the front of the line to buy her ticket because her train is about to leave. A lady who is also in line protests. She says everybody’s train is about to leave and this woman cannot just push her way in ahead of them all. She cannot simply flaunt her sex appeal to play on male weakness. Another traveler agrees that men are stupid when it comes to pretty young women. An announcement on the loudspeaker interrupts the quarrel. The Eurostar that both the women and the other travelers are expecting will be significantly delayed because of bad weather. The crowd erupts in shouts of protest against the railroad company.
Soon afterward, two of those who had been involved meet at the café in the station. The man is already seated and convinces the woman to sit with him since their wait is likely to be long. They start talking and discover they are in perfect agreement on the poor management of the railroad company. Once they have broken the ice, their conversation turns to their private lives. She has no children, is getting divorced, and is going to Venice to visit a woman friend.
The waitress arrives at the table and begins to describe the various items on the café’s menu. They have the most famous recipes of any Italian region and of any nationality—an international feast. In the meantime some policemen arrive who were called to investigate a suitcase left, unwatched, at the bar. Many customers, afraid of a bomb, get up and run out of the café but the two travelers, imperturbable, remain seated at their table. Just as a policeman is about to open the suitcase, the flamboyant woman enters. The suitcase is hers. She left it there to go to the restroom and, true to form, had asked a man to watch it for her. No doubt she had taken too long and the man had gone to catch his train.
An announcement comes over the speakers that the Eurostar is arriving so the two travelers leave the café and go to the platform. With a newly acquired familiarity they express their pleasure in having met, thanks to the train delay.
Op. 62
Una questione d’onore
Chamber opera in one act
Una questione d’onore (2010)
Chamber opera in one act
Libretto by Riccardo Riccardi drawn from Arthur Schnitzler
Character: Girolamo Zorzi, a Lieutenant of the Republic of Venice, baritone/actor
Instrumentation: Accord, Synth, Pno
Duration: ca. 60m
Premiere: San Gimignano (Siena), Teatro dei Leggieri, 09-26-2010
Marcello Lippi, Bar/Actor; Roberto Caberlotto, Accord; Gilberto Meneghin, Synth; Michele Zappaterra, Pno; Marcello Lippi, Dir
The work is structured as an eighteenth-century opera buffa, often reminiscent of the Concerto Grosso and the Trio Sonata. Although written in a contemporary idiom, it invokes such significant musical forms as the Passacaglia and the Fugue. The only character on stage is a baritone/actor, who must be equally skilled at singing and acting.
The libretto is adapted from Arthur Schnitzler’s, Lieutenant Gustl. Vienna is the setting of the story in Schnitzler’s original text and he set the action at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. In this libretto the action is moved to Venice and the clock is set back to the middle of the eighteenth century. Moreover there could be no more suitable location than the Most Serene Republic of Venice for a story set in the mid-eighteenth century. This idea was borrowed from Schnizler himself, who wrote two works on the figure of Giacomo Casanova, a Venetian by birth. The eighteenth century of Una questione d’onore is seen through Schnitzler’s early twentieth-century Viennese eyes, and Venice is the city as seen by Hugo von Hofmannsthal and Thomas Mann.
Girolamo Zorzi, a young officer of the Serene Republic of Venice, is at the theater. He’s not very interested in the performance but instead lets his eyes rove among the ladies in the boxes and ponders what may await him after the production. He can’t wait for the performance to finish. Another thought crosses his mind. The following afternoon a duel awaits him. Crowding towards the door and trying to move ahead of another man, Girolamo pushes him. This starts an altercation with the man whom Girolamo recognizes. He’s huge, a baker, and he threatens to break Girolamo’s saber with his own two hands. This takes place silently, without anyone noticing, but the young officer is petrified and hasn’t the courage to respond. The baker leaves.
Girolamo finally reaches the open air and begins roaming the city aimlessly. He torments himself for not having had the courage to respond to the affront he suffered. After an intense inner monologue he concludes that he can avoid dishonor only by taking his gun and killing himself. At this thought, he starts imagining the reactions of the woman he loves, his parents, and his fellow officers.
Wandering over bridges and canals, he finds a garden on the outskirts of the city. He sits down on a wall, exhausted. Now, instead of suicide, his mind wanders to other options: he could retire to a monastery or even flee to America. That would protect his parents from a deep anguish. In the silence of the night he falls asleep.
Girolamo awakes before dawn, surrounded by the scents of spring. Not yet fully conscious, he thinks of the duel awaiting him, but then remembers the night before and wonders whether what happened exiting the theater was real or merely a dream. The sun has risen. Girolamo starts back into the city. The sound of an organ draws him into a church. He sees an old woman praying and considers talking of his intention to commit suicide with a priest. Finally however he leaves the church in silence as pangs of hunger draw him toward his cafe. He enters the cafe for his final meal as an officer of the Republic of Venice. Coincidentally, the innkeeper recounts that the baker who provides baked goods to the neighborhood—the man who had threatened Girolamo the night before—had died of a heart attack during the night. The news that the secret of his disgrace has been forever buried fills Girolamo with an unrestrained joy and he begins to think anew of a bright future.
Op. 64
Shakespeare & Gossip
Chamber opera in three tableaux and epilogue
Shakespeare & Gossip (2012–2015)
Chamber opera in three tableaux and epilogue
Libretto by Riccardo Riccardi freely drawn from Caprice by Ronald Firbank
Characters: Miss Sarah Sinquier (age 18), coloratura soprano; Mrs. Sixmith (over 40) mezzo-soprano; Canon Sinquier / Sir Oliver/Mr. Smee/ The critic Walter Waler, baritone.
Instrumentation: Perc: S-Dr, Bs-Dr, 3Tom-toms, Tamb, Susp-Cymb, Trgl, Glsp, Chm (1Performer), El-Guit, Keyboard, Strings (or 2Vln, Vla, Vc, D–B)
Duration: ca. 60m
Premiere: Roma, Palazzo Braschi, Anno per anno Festival, 09-16-2016
Ronia Weyhenmeyer, Sop; Manuela Festuccia, Mez; Giacomo Balla, Bar;
The Soloists of the Orchestra Classica di Roma: Raffele Iannicelli, Cond; Salvatore Cardone, Dir
Op. 66
A theatrical play with arias and ensembles
Il testamento (2013 – 2019)
A theatrical play with arias and ensembles
Text by Riccardo Riccardi
Characters: Paola (in her fifties) soprano/actress; Claudia (five years older) soprano/actress; Tina (an eldery maid) mezzo-soprano/actress
Scoring: Solo Pno, El-Guit, 2 Vln, Vla, Vlc, D–B (or string orchestra)
Duration: ca. 60m
Premiered in an earlier version in English for soprano/actress, pianist/actress and offstage synthesizer: Dublin, Royal Irish Academy of Music, 03/26/2014
Margaret Bridge, singer/actress; Dearbhla Collins, pianist/actress; Gillian Daly, synthesizer
Premiered in Italian in the revised version:
Roma, Teatro di Villa Torlonia, 10/13/2021
Veronica Aracri S; Beatrice Fallocco S; Hyeonsol Park MS; Gruppo strumentale del Conservatorio Santa Cecilia; Daniele Ruffino, Cond; Novella Tabili, Dir; Claudia Federici, Stage design; Accademia di Belle Arti Roma, Sets and costumes; Marco Pamieri, Lighting design
This work was born from the expansion of a previous work for one singer
and a pianist who were asked to enact a prose text interspersed with
musical arias. In the current version there are instead three singers, two
sopranos and a mezzo-soprano who also enact spoken dialog between arias and ensembles.
Synopsis
Paola and Claudia, two sisters, meet to clean out the house, after their
father’s recent death. It’s a return for Claudia, who has lived away for years,
but a routine for Paola, who has never moved from the town where she was
born. An elderly service woman, now retired, complete the cast. She, Tina,
has worked for the family for as long as the sisters can remember.
The action begins with Claudia alone in the home she grew up in, looking
around at every object that reminds her of her youth. When Tina arrives,
shortly thereafter, we discover that Claudia has continuously worked
abroad and that her father had been a stellar pianist before an accident
radically changed his life.
Paola also arrives, having first been stopped by journalists at the funeral
parlor, asking for news of the famous pianist who had just died. The two
sisters begin talking a bit superficially. Claudia, almost listlessly asks about
life in the area and Paola recounts some recent events. They go on to talk
about their father and how he had chosen to retire to his native village in
order to avoid the spotlight. Memories return and, with the memories,
reproaches. Why is Paola dissatisfied since she has never moved from this
town? As their talk grows in candor and increasing rancor, old issues and
accusations re-emerge resulting finally in an open quarrel. Hearing their
quarrel, Tina cautiously enters, holding the case of a musical instrument. It
is Claudia’s guitar, which represented freedom to her by comparison with
her father’s rigorous discipline in practicing the piano. She clutches it to her breast and recalls the first song she learned on it: “She was a doll”! After her
moment of nostalgia, the quarrel resumes between the two sisters and the
recriminations grow even more intense: Paola accuses Claudia of leaving
her alone to take care of their father and Claudia accuses Paola of having
always had the economic advantages, insinuating that she has made up bills
for her own profit. Paola leaves the room, violently slamming the door.
Claudia, left alone, goes to the piano, searches among the scores and begins
to play a sonata by Scarlatti.
On Scarlatti’s final notes, Paola returns with all the accounts. After their
outburst, they begin to calm down. They have a practical duty to perform:
they are in that house to empty it. They have to decide what to throw away,
what to keep and how to divide it. Browsing through things, they find a
libretto: “The Return of Casanova.” It’s an opera in two acts with an epilog.
Continuing the search, they find a collection of arias from this opera for voice
and piano. When they find that their father signed it, they are surprised.
They didn’t know he was a composer, as well as a pianist. Paola begins to
sing an aria from the collection, Claudia accompanies her on the piano.
Reading the plot of the opera and making inferences, they wonder: how
much might this libretto have to do with their father’s actual life? Tina
returns onstage to show some dusty old dolls and takes the opportunity to
complain about the filth that has overwhelmed the house since she retired.
The new service help are no longer like they used to be: there is no religion
anymore!
The two sisters read the last aria of the collection and see that the complete
work is missing. Pressed for time and with Tina’s help, they leave to look for
the complete manuscript. Claudia and Paola come back onstage with it.
Now they’ll have something for the journalists: “The only opera, composed by the famous pianist, Giovanni Candiani, has been found”!
Op. 71
Opera in one act and epilogue
Il direttore (2012 – 2017)
Opera in one act and epilogue
Libretto by Riccardo Riccardi inspired by Der Kammersänger by Frank Wedekind
Characters: Oskar Girardi, a young conductor/Olivo, tenor; Maestro Nari, an old composer/Casanova, bass; Superintendent, Ms. Giovanna Gori, mezzosoprano; Secretary/Amalia, soprano; Assistant/Lorenzi, baritone.
Scoring: Sop-Rec, Fl, Ob/E.Hn, Cl, Cl-B, 2Hn, Tpt, Trbn, Euph, Tuba, Perc (S-Dr, 2Tom-toms, Susp-Cymb, Trgl, Glsp) Hpschd, Pno, Vln (from 1 to 6), Vla (from 1 to 4), Vc (from 1 to 4)
Duration: ca. 60m
Premiere: Roma, Teatro di Villa Torlonia, 05-22-2019
Alessandro Lanzi, T; Chihiro Hachiya, B; Aurora Rosa Savinelli, MS; Miho Takamatsu, S: Seong Dong Yeol, Bar; Giorgio Bellido Rivera, T; Gruppo strumentale del Conservatorio Santa Cecilia; Stefano Mastrangelo, Cond; Stefano Piacenti, Dir
Op. 72
A theatrical play with arias and ensembles
Moving Out (2015 – 2019)
A theatrical play with arias and ensembles
Text by Riccardo Riccardi
Characters: Nora (in her fifties) soprano/actress; Nadia (in her mid-twenties) soprano/actress; Ralph (New York realtor), tenor/actor
Scoring: Solo Pno, El-Guit, 2 Vln, Vla, Vlc, D–B (or string orchestra)
Duration: ca. 60m
Premiered in an earlier version in English for soprano, mezzo-soprano and piano:
Elisa Prosperi, S; Virginia Guidi, MS; Riccardo Riccardi, Pf.
Washington DC, Italian Embassy, 06/21/16
Premiered in Italian in the revised version:
Roma, Teatro di Villa Torlonia, 10/13/2021
Mary Rosada S; Marta Pacifici S; Haiyang Guo T; Gruppo strumentale del Conservatorio Santa Cecilia; Daniele Ruffino, Cond; Novella Tabili, Dir; Claudia Federici, Stage design; Accademia di Belle Arti Roma, Sets and costumes; Marco Pamieri, Lighting design
Moving Out, a staged production with arias and ensembles, was born from the expansion of a work in English, first performed at the Italian Embassy in Washington, D. C. on June 21st and 22nd for the 2016 Festa della musica. The Italian version, in addition to extensively reworking the text, adds a new character and some plot twists. The overall structure of Moving Out inserts arias and duets into a theater piece.
The plot
On stage, two opposing and complementary personalities confront each other: a mature woman, Nora, who moved from Italy to the USA many years ago because she had won a scholarship to Yale, and her daughter, Nadia, who in her own mind, thinks her mother abandoned her. Nadia believes her mother put career above maternal love. For Nora, there are memories of the past with regrets and nostalgia for one’s roots; Nadia, on the other hand, has recriminations and accusations against her mother but, at the same time, dreams of her own future in America. On one side we see Nora’s uneasiness at the ending of a troubled relationship, and on the other a trouble-free ending to Nadia’s love story: an interest in culture seasoned with a good deal of snobbery on the part of the mother and the desire to leave her university studies in order to immerse herself in her work on the part of the daughter.
A slice of America—the America of business, of money—appears when a New York real estate agent, Ralph, enters the scene. He’s of Italian origin and tries, unsuccessfully, to express himself in the language of his grandparents.
The emotions of the two female characters exhibit a lightness and irony. The conflict between mother and daughter is reconciled in their enduring love for Italian food, and that’s the only true bond that Ralph himself has with the land of his ancestors.
Op. 73
Opera in three condominium meetings and epilogue
L’ascensore (2016)
Opera in three condominium meetings and epilogue
Libretto by Riccardo Riccardi
Characters: Ms.von Bülow, coloratura soprano; Lucilla, soprano; Miss Palma De Lollis, soprano; Gilda Cipollaro, mezzosoprano; Claudio Petrozzi, tenor; Cosimo Colacino, tenor; Engineer Sparapia, tenor; Architect Ranaldi, baritone; Dr. Mustacchio, bass-baritone
Instrumentation: Sop-Rec/Alto-Rec, Fl/Alto-Fl, Ob/Eng-Hn, Cl/Bs-Cl, 2Hn, Tpt, Trb, Tuba, Perc (Timp, Glock, S-Dr, 2 Tom-toms, Susp Cymb, Trg) Pno, Vc
Duration: circa. 60m
Premiere: Roma, Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia, Sala Accademica, Santa Cecilia in Via Giulia, 05-13-18
Tiffany Delguste, Stella Alonzi, Moe Iwasaki, Sop; Federica Tuccillo, Mez; Lee Taehym, Hao De Zheng, Oh Gyeong Taeg, Ten: Niu Tian, Bar; Li Lutailong, Bs-Bar; Santa Cecilia Panama Ensemble: Stefano Mastrangelo, Cond; Stefano Piacenti, Dir
As early as 2010, after the composition of Talk Show, which takes place in a television studio, and F.S.S.P.A., set in a railway station, Riccardi was thinking of a third work based on an everyday topic: a work to conclude a cycle that will be called, “The Triptych of Triviality.” The creation of the libretto and the writing of the music for this final piece would need, however, more than five years to see the light of day.
SYNOPSIS
The action of L’ascensore takes place in Rome in 1999. The locations of the opera are: first a shabby room used for condominium meetings, and then the stairwell of the building where the protagonists live. One of the building’s apartments has just been bought by the architect, Ranaldi. Thanks to him an old idea catches fire. Although bruited about for years, it has never been carried out: the installation of an elevator. The revival of this idea creates two factions in the condominium: co-owners who are convinced, and undecided ones. Among the former are Ms. von Bülow, a true lady, Cosimo, a lover of comfort and quiet living, and Ranaldi himself. Among the latter are Gilda, an outspoken working-class woman, Claudio, a retired plumber, and Dr. Mustacchio, an advocate for a company he has contacts with. Completing the large cast are Lucilla, administrator of the building, and Sparapia, an engineer who owns a property on the ground floor and for whom an elevator would be of little use. He could, however, potentially be the designer and supervisor of the work. Miss De Lollis opposes the installation of the elevator because of old conflicts with other owners, mainly Gilda, and is in a group by herself.
Op. 75
Duello
Opera in two days and an epilogue
Duello (2018)
Opera in two days and an epilogue
Libretto by Riccardo Riccardi
Characters: First singer, soprano; Second singer, soprano; A male judge, baritenor; A female judge, mezzo-soprano/actress; The pianist, pianist/actor; Two policemen, extra
Scoring: Fl, 2Ob, 2Bsn, 2Hn, Timp, Perc, Strings
Duration: ca. 1h 10m
Duello, through the medium of opera, brings social issues on stage. It highlights issues of meritocracy, injustice and corruption, and focuses on a very timely topic: sexual harassment in the professional world. Duello is a theater within the theater and stages the dreams, ambitions and fears that a young singer inevitably feels in beginning a career. It makes the audience feel the tension and competition between the two lead singers and brings to the fore the ugly compromises one often has to consider in starting a career. Duello’s structure intersperses musical numbers with spoken dialogues and includes arias and ensembles drawn from Italian opera literature, marrying the music of the past with the music of the 21st century.
Arias and ensembles cited:
Gazzaniga’s Don Giovanni: Aria Povere femmine
Salieri’s La scuola dei gelosi: Recitative and Aria Quel visino è da ritratto
Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia: Aria Il vecchiotto cerca moglie
Rossini’s La Cenerentola: Duet No, no, no: non v’è
Cimarosa’s Il matrimonio segreto: Ensemble Le faccio un inchino
Mozart’s Don Giovanni: Recitativo and Duettino Là ci darem la mano.
Synopsis
A theater. In a lobby. Two sopranos have passed the elimination phases of an important audition. While waiting for a member of the jury who has not yet appeared, they exchange their impressions. Of all the contestants, only the two of them remain to contend for a position in the theater.
The first singer auditions before the jury with well-known arias. A woman and two men comprise the jury and one of them accompanies the singers at the piano. The judges express their opinions, giving more than ample advice to the young woman. In the process they reveal a lot about themselves –anecdotes about their lives, their alliances and their past skirmishes. The judge who arrived late is definitely the one who matters!
Changing of the guard: the second competitor’s audition begins. The first singer, now outside, listens to the performance of her rival and, according to an operatic convention, adds her own comments, heard only by the audience, to those of the jury.
The first day ends with an interlude in which the primary judge is seen speaking earnestly with the first singer, but their words cannot be heard. In the interval before the final audition, while the jury confers in private, each of the two singers has an aria in which she expresses her own intentions, in case she wins the competition.
Second day: the jury decides that the final audition will not be two separate performances. The two competitors will compete together. Duets taken from operas of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries are chosen. That structure will allow a direct comparison of the two virtuosos.
A few days pass: the competition has ended. In the theater’s foyer, the first singer is arguing animatedly with the judge. She accuses him of going back on his promises. She decries the fact that, despite having given in to his sexual advances, she was only hired for the first group of performances. For the overseas tour, the other soprano was cast. The dialogue ends in a quarrel. The judge sarcastically puts an end to her diatribe with an aria recalling the philosophy of Scarpia. He complacently comments on all the singers who accepted his advances as the beginning of brilliant careers. The young woman takes out her cell phone: she has recorded everything.
Op. 76
A theatrical play with arias
Questionario (2019)
A theatrical play with arias
Text by Riccardo Riccardi
Characters: Woman, soprano/actress; First interviewer, (distorted voice, offstage) actress;
Second interviewer, (distorted voice, offstage), actor; Crowd of citizens, extras
Scoring: Mar, Vib, Timp (1 performer); El-Chit
Duration: ca 40m
What is it about?
A theatrical production in which a woman, the only character on stage, deals with two reverberating and distorted amplified voices that resound over the entire stage and envelop it. The protagonist must have equal skill as an opera singer and an actress. The issues are thorny: the hypocrisy of human behavior, the absurdity of the laws and the bad faith and arrogance of both private and public institutions. The text of this play is a strong denunciation.
SYNOPSIS
The action takes place in the immediate future. Every worker is required, at random, to answer a new iteration of an interactive vocal questionnaire: the assessment is automatic and provided by an artificial intelligence program. A woman listlessly prepares to respond to yet another questionnaire: the interviewers are two amplified metallic voices, one female and one male. The questions begin with one for general information. The woman protests. Why does she have to answer another question about her age? She blurts out her reaction, “We are a society that loves and respects only the young!” But the questions immediately take an unexpected turn: “Have you ever committed murder?” Clearly the woman has never killed anyone, except perhaps mosquitoes in self-defense. Then she is snidely asked: “Have you ever stolen anything? Not even from the supermarket?” The most recurring societal hypocrisies are exposed. Personal questions follow, dealing with relationships between her working life and private life. Faced with questions that follow about her married life, the protagonist, in a mood critical of society’s bigotry, claims her right to be banal. “What is your relationship with Mr. Andrew Ammannati?” is the next question in the questionnaire. The woman, after protesting that her privacy is not respected, agrees to talk about her relationship and, in a burst of disarming candor, begins quarreling with the interviewing voices. Finally she declares: “And I’m not sorry.” Next, themes of jealousy, guilt complexes, and lies that feed passion are addressed. As tensions are reaching a climax, the woman bursts into thunderous laughter: “Is what I have said even true?” Undauntedly, the voices ask for news about Andrew Ammannati. She violently protests and accuses the artificial voices that are interviewing her of the most sordid hypocrisy. “How many pedophiles are model citizens!” she says. “And do they separate the garbage.” It is now an open warfare between the protagonist and the voices interviewing her. The tone of the artificial intelligence is increasingly brazen and arrogant. The questions touch on laws, government institutions and politics. The woman is outspoken and does not hold back anything. In the end, she even reveals who Andrew Ammannati is. By now she is sure that she hasn’t passed the questionnaire, but…a surprise is waiting for her!
Op. 78
La via del mare
Opera in a prologue, three days and an epilogue
La via del mare (2020)
Opera in a prologue, three days and an epilogue
Libretto by Riccardo Riccardi
Characters: Rosa (the mayor’s secretary), soprano; Rolando (mid-forties), baritone; Mayor, tenor; Architect, baritone; Pasquale, bass
Scoring: to be defined
Duration: ca.1h 10m
This tale with a bittersweet ending is based on a questionable Italian tax measure. Starting from the 1980’s, laws were enacted which resolved building abuses with the payment of fines, called amnesty. These laws provided an opening for many builders to build quickly and illegally, that is to say secretly, claiming that the buildings were “renovations” of buildings that pre-existed these new laws, with the result that many beautiful Italian landscapes were destroyed by wild overbuilding.
La via del mare tells a fantastic, but all too realistic, story of one instance of this practice. The action takes place in 1985 on a road that runs along the shore in an unspecified place on the Italian coast. The mayor of the nearby town, an architect and a builder meet there. They are planning to build a series of seaside villas very quickly, to take advantage of the recent fines. The mayor’s secretary, who’s the architect’s lover, joins them soon afterward with news of a possible problem. Rolando, a very mysterious stranger, has been riding all day and in all kinds of weather along the road that runs beside the land destined for their ruse. And he has been taking pictures. Pictures that could demonstrate the non- existence of any buildings at the time the fines were enacted.
The group of crooks (“renovators”) try everything to stop Rolando from harming the project. The builder offers him a seaside villa to bribe him; the secretary tries to flirt with him; they send a couple of henchmen to threaten him, but it’s all in vain: Rolando won’t give up his photos.
They then resort to action, burglarizing Rolando’s house to steal his photos. In the meantime, the secretary has dissociated herself from this illegal project and tells Rolando the reason for the burglary, but he still doesn’t give up. He will continue to take his puzzling photos, but he tells her their real purpose. They serve him as preliminary studies for his true intention: to portray, as a painter, the moment of becoming. He then decides to reach out to the mayor and his associates and tell them that he has made copies of the shots and that he can unmask their scam. The swindlers become increasingly aggressive, but the secretary openly takes Rolando’s side. The tension culminates when he sees a house on fire in the distance. It’s his.
The opera concludes with an ending that finds the illegal buildings have been built, the builders have deceived the law, paid their fines and sold the villas at a high price. But it also ends with love! Rolando and the secretary have abandoned the coastal highway and live happily abroad.
Op. 79
La disfatta
Opera in two acts and an epilogue
La disfatta (2021–2023)
Opera in two acts and an epilogue
Libretto by Riccardo Riccardi
Characters: He (in his early fifties), baritone; She (in her mid-forties), soprano; Psychologist, mezzosoprano; Waitress, bar customers (26/27 years old), coloratura-soprano; A psychologist’s colleague and Bar customers, extras
Scoring: to be determined
Duration: ca1h 20m
First act
End of the ’80’s of the 20th century. A playwright and his wife meet in the studio of a psychologist to discuss their teenage daughter’s problems, but inevitably the topic
of their session becomes the relationship between the two of them. He was recently kicked out of the house because of his infidelity and relations between the two became tense: they argue and start making accusations and complaints in front of the psychologist. On leaving the session, he asks his wife to let him come home, but she replies that it is too late, and tells him that she has started a new relationship.
Second act
He is in a cafe. He asked his ex-wife to come when he makes an important phone call (one of his plays might be performed in Arizona). While waiting, he talks to the waitress and discovers that she’s a writer too! His ex-wife arrives and they talk about the end of their relationship. She has always indulged his megalomania. He never cared enough about her. He makes the phone call, but the answer is negative: he didn’t make it. His wife sympathizes with him, but then he gets a callback shortly afterward. It was a misunderstanding, his work will be performed and he will go to Arizona. His wife congratulates him and he suggests that she come with him, but she teases him affectionately and leaves. When the waitress returns to the table, he flatters her and proposes that she come with him to Arizona as his assistant.
Epilogue
The girl accepts the writer’s invitation to dinner and she tells him about her own life, about her doubts, about her goals. She also expresses her hesitancy in accepting his offer. Visiting America has always been one of her dreams, but she doesn’t feel able to give him a definite answer. As a result, the opera is left without a conclusive ending: “I don’t know, I can’t tell you now. You’ll go. Maybe I’ll follow you.”
Orchestra
Op. 9
Concerto
for violin and orchestra
Concerto for violin and e orchestra (1981 – 1982)
Scoring: Solo Vln; Orch: 2Fl, 2Ob, Cl, Bs-Cl, 2Bsn, 2Hn, Tpt, Timp, Perc: Xil, Vib, Tub-Bell (B) 2 Susp Cymb (1Es.), Strings
Duration: ca. 16m
In 1983 the Concerto for violin and orchestra won the Composer’s Award at the 21st Southwestern Youth Music Festival, California.
Op. 13
for piano and orchestra
Concerto for piano and orchestra (1983, Rev 2014)
Scoring: Solo Pno; Orch: 2Fl (2nd also Picc), 2Ob, 2Cl, Bs-Cl, 2Bsn, 4Hn, 3Tpt, 3Trb, Tba, Timp, Strings
Duration: ca. 18m
Written in 1983 for piano and full orchestra, this Piano Concerto was revised in 2014 along with its transcription for piano and 6 instruments for a performance at the Liszt Academy in Budapest. On that occasion a version for chamber orchestra was also prepared.
There are 3 versions of this Piano Concerto:
1. for piano and orchestra, Opus 13
2. for piano and chamber orchestra (flute, clarinet, bassoon and strings), Opus 13b
3. for piano and six instruments (flute, clarinet – also bass clarinet – 2 violins, viola, cello), Opus 13c
Versions 1 and 2 have the same length and the solo part is also the same.
Version 3 changes versions 1 and 2 by excluding the cadenza and tutti after the cadenza of the first movement, and it shortens the third movement.
Op. 13 bis
for piano and chamber esemble
Concerto for piano and chamber ensemble (1983, Rev. 2014)
Instrumentation: Solo Pno; Orch: Fl, Cl, Bsn, Strings
Duration: ca. 18m
A version for chamber orchestra of the Concerto for piano and orchestra
The number of strings, ideally 6. 6. 4. 4. 2., or at least 4.4.2.2.1., is left to the discretion of the conductors according to the availability of the instruments. Since each of the string parts could feasibly be played by one player, performance with a string quintet would be possible. Therefore divisi has not been written in the score. Whether or not to divide the strings can be decided by the conductor according to the number of strings available.
Op. 21
for accordion and orchestra
Concerto for accordion and orchestra (1987, Rev 2023)
Scoring: Solo Accord; Orch: 2Fl (2nd also Picc), 2Ob, 2Cl, Bs-Cl, 2Bsn, 4Hn, 3Tpt, 3Trb, Tba, Timp, Strings
Duration: ca.20m
The first two movements of the Piano Concerto, Op. 13, are the first and the third movements of the Concerto for Accordion and Orchestra however with significant differences in the accordion part from the original piano part and a completely rewritten cadenza. A new movement was composed for the second movement of the Accordion Concerto and a new, two part-coda closes the third movement.
Two versions of the Accordion Concerto exist:
1. for accordion and orchestra, Opus 21;
2. for accordion, flute, clarinet, bassoon and strings, Opus 21bis.
In 1987 this work was cited at the Concorso di Composizione Premio Città di Castelfidardo.
Op. 21 bis
Concerto
Concerto for accordion and chamber orchestra (1987, Rev. 2014)
Scoring: Solo Accord; Orch: Fl, Cl, Bsn, Strings
Duration: ca. 14m
Opus 21bis, for chamber orchestra, does not include the new second movement nor the second part of the coda and consequently has a shorter duration.
Op. 27
Divertimento (1989 – 2019)
Scoring: Solo Vln; Orch: 2Fl, 2Ob, 2Cl, 2Tpt, Timp, Perc (1 performer), Guit, Strings
Duration: ca. 12m 30s
Op. 46
for chamber orchestra
Foglio d’album (2003 – 2005) for orchestra was the fruit of a revision and re-orchestration of a piece for trumpet and strings written in 2003. It consists of three short movements. The first movement, Andante calmo/Poco più lento, features the trumpet, obbligato; the second, in a quite rapid tempo, Scorrevole/Meno mosso, is primarily entrusted to the strings and closes with a long chord sustained by the winds with the cello in dialogue with the timpani. The third movement returns to the same tempo as the first movement, but draws mainly from the material of the second movement.
The orchestra includes 2 flutes (2nd also piccolo), 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, trumpet, timpani, and strings (at least 6.6.4.4.2.).
Op. 53 bis
Spirito e materia
Spirito e materia (2007)
Version for ensemble or chamber orchestra of the Finale of Act I from the opera Il ritorno di Casanova
Duration: ca. 9m 30s
Premiere (in the version for ensemble): Prato, Cantieri Culturali Ex-Macelli, ContempoPratoFestival, VI,
11-14-2008
Contempoartensemble: Mauro Ceccanti, Cond
There are three instrumentations of Spirito e materia (Op. 53 bis):
1. for chamber ensemble:
Ob (also Eng-Hn) or Alto-Fl; Cl (also Bs-Cl) or Basset-Hn; Bsn; El-Guit or Harp; Vln or Vla; Vla; Vlc; D-B
2. for chamber orchestra:
Fl, Ob, 2 Cl, Hn, El-Guit/Keyboard, Strings (4.4.4.2.1. minimum)
3. for string orchestra:
El-Guit or Harp, Strings (4.4.4.2.1. minimum)
Op. 57
Doppia romanza (2008)
I – Sogno d’or
II – Casa mia, casa mia
Organico: Voce; Orch: Fl, Ob, Cl, Fag, Cr, Tr, Trbn, Timp, Perc (1 Es.), Pf, Archi
Durata: 4’circa
Prima esecuzione: Barga (LU), Teatro dei Differenti, Festival Opera Barga, 3-08-2008 Ilaria Zanetti, Voce; Orchestra Giocosa di Trieste: Severino Zannerini, Dir
Doppia romanza, Opus 57, written in 2008 but extensively revised in 2024, is a short composition for chamber orchestra–almost two “romances” in one. The piece moves between several clearly defined keys. The “first romance” begins in B-flat major with the violins and violas playing high register chords in a slow tempo. Then the cellos and the double basses enter and, little by little, the woodwinds, the horns, and finally, the piano. The second section of this “romance” is in D major. The last section is a reprise in B-flat beginning with arpeggios from low to high, answering each other in the winds, strings and piano. Only here the trumpet and the trombone for the first time are heard. The arpeggios lead to a concluding climax that closes the “first romance”. Then the “second romance” begins, likewise a ternary structure. This “romance” is in G major for each of its three parts. It begins with a slow, contemplative section that is followed by an allegro moderato middle section. Then it returns to a slow passage that fades out in closing.
Op. 81
Concerto for percussion and orchestra
Tra mare e mare (2021)
Concerto per percussione e orchestra
Scoring: Solo Perc: S-Dr, 4Tom-toms, Ped Bs-Dr, Tamb, Bong, Conga-Dr, 4 T-Bl, 2 Cow-Bl, 4 Metals, 2 Susp-Cymb, Hi-hat, Trgl, Glsp, Tub-Bell, Tibet-Bell, Gong;
Orch: 3Fl, (3rd also Picc) 3Ob, (3rd also E.Hn), 2Cl, Bs-Cl, 3Bsn, 4Hn, 3Tpt, 3Trb, Tba, Timp, Perc: Bs-Dr, Tam-tam, Trgl, Susp-Cymb, Crash-Cymb, Xil, Vibr (2 players), Strings
Duration: ca.24m
Op. 85
Com’era bello quando sognavo (2023)
Scoring: Solo Pno; Orch: 2Fl (2nd also Picc), 2Ob, 2Cl, Bs-Cl, 2Bsn, 4Hn, 3Tpt, 3Trb, Tba, Timp, Perc (2 players), Strings
Duration: 20′
Chamber Orchestra
Op. 4
Sinodia (1978)
Scoring: (2 versions): Hpschd, Strings (5Vln, 3Vla, 2 Vlc, 2 D-B)
or: Hpschd, Strings (6Vln, 3Vla, 2 Vlc, 1 D-B)
Duration: ca. 9m
Premiere: Roma, Auditorium Rai del Foro Italico, Festival Nuova Consonanza,
10-14-1981
Velia De Vita, Hpschd; Gruppo Strumentale Musica d’oggi: Luca Pfaff, Cond
Op. 17
for clarinet, bass clarinet (or soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone) and strings
Rondissimo (1984)
Instrumentation: Cl, Bs-Cl (Sop-Sax, Ten-Sax), Strings (4.4.2.2.1. minimum)
Duration: ca. 12m 40s
Premiere (early version): Cles (TN), Castel Cles, 08-15-1985
Raffaella Chiarini, Alto-Fl; Ermanno Giacomel, Bs-Fl; Insieme Cameristico Italiano: Massimo Battistella, Cond
A version of Triomagno (op.15) for soloists and strings with an entire section added and several others varied.
Op. 24
All’apparir del vero (1988)
Scoring: Fl, Guit, Hpschd, Strings (or 2Vln, Vla, Vlc, D-B)
Duration: ca.13m
Premiere: Milano, Chiesa di Santa Maria della Passione, Appunti di Musica Sacra,
05-02-1989
Gruppo Musica Insieme di Cremona: Pietro Antonini, Cond
Op. 31 bis
Ma come è grande il mondo! (1991, Rev. 2000)
Suite from the ballet Il brutto anatroccolo (op.31)
Scoring: Fl, 2Cl, Bsn, Tpt, Timp and Perc (1performer), Guit, Pno, Strings (or 3Vln, 1D-B).
Duration: ca.14m
Premiere: Rimini, Liceo Lettimi, 06-05-2000
Orchestra Lettimi: Gianluca Gardini, Cond
Op. 42 bis
La posta in gioco II
La posta in gioco II (2000, Orch. 2002)
Scoring: Solo Vlc; Orch: 2Fl, 2Ob, 2Cl, 2Bsn, 2Hn, 2Tpt, D-B
Duration: ca. 8m 45s
An orchestration of La posta in gioco.
Op. 45
In attesa dell’alba (2003)
Scoring: Strings (4.4.2.2.1. minimum)
Duration: ca. 6m 50s
Premiere: Rimini, Cimitero monumentale, 11-01-2003
Orchestra Lettimi: Gian Luca Gardini, Cond
Op. 49
for guitar and strings
Concerto for guitar and strings (2003 – 2005)
Scoring: Guit, Strings (4.4.2.2.1. minimum)
Duration: ca. 19m
Written in 2003/2005 and revised in 2024, the Concerto for Guitar and Strings, Opus 49 consists of four movements. The last movement of the original version, that included the addition of an obbligato trumpet, was dropped from this Concerto and was used in the Foglio d’album, Opus 46. Instead an Adagio rubato was inserted as third movement of this revised version.
An amplified classic guitar, or an acoustic or electric guitar, played with the fingers can be used.
Op. 53 bis
Spirito e materia
Spirito e materia (2007)
Version for ensemble or chamber orchestra of the Finale of Act I from the opera Il ritorno di Casanova
Duration: ca. 9m 30s
Premiere (in the version for ensemble): Prato, Cantieri Culturali Ex-Macelli, ContempoPratoFestival, VI,
11-14-2008
Contempoartensemble: Mauro Ceccanti, Cond
There are three instrumentations of Spirito e materia (Op. 53 bis):
1. for chamber ensemble:
Ob (also Eng-Hn) or Alto-Fl; Cl (also Bs-Cl) or Basset-Hn; Bsn; El-Guit or Harp; Vln or Vla; Vla; Vlc; D-B
2. for chamber orchestra:
Fl, Ob, 2 Cl, Hn, El-Guit/Keyboard, Strings (4.4.4.2.1. minimum)
3. for string orchestra:
El-Guit or Harp, Strings (4.4.4.2.1. minimum)
Op. 64 bis
Shakespeare & Gossip Suite
for chamber orchestra
Shakespeare & Gossip Suite (2015)
for chamber orchestra
Scoring: Fl, Ob, Cl, Bs-Cl, Tpt, Perc (1 or 2 perf), El-Guit, Pno (or Keyboard) Strings(or 2Vln,Vla,Vlc,D-B)
Duration: ca.15m
Primiere: Krakow, Music Academy, 10/16/2015,
Spoldzielnia Muzyczna; Maciej Koczur, Cond
Op. 65
for strings and continuo, ad libitum
Ma di che cosa si tratta (2013)
Scoring: Strings (3.3.2.2.1. minimum) and continuo (ad lib.)
Duration: ca. 8m 30s
Primiere: Laurino (Salerno) Teatro Comunale, 12/26/2015
Orchestra Filarmonica Campana: Raffaele Iannicelli, Cond
Chamber Music
Op. 5
Quartetto
for seven wind instruments (four performers)
Quartetto (1978 – 1979)
Instrumentation: Picc, Fl; Ob, Eng-Hn; Cl, Bs-Cl; Bsn
Duration: ca. 10m
Premiere: Firenze, Palazzo Pitti, Teatro Rondò di Bacco, G.A.M.O., 10-10-1981
Stefano Margheri, Picc/Fl; Simone Bensi, Ob/Eng-Hn; Gianni Lazzeri Cl/Bs-Cl; Luca Giovannini, Bsn
In 1980 the Quartetto was a prize recipient at the III Rassegna della Filarmonica Umbra.
Op. 5 bis
Epillio
Epillio (1980)
Instrumentation: 3Fl (1st and 2nd also Picc)
Duration: ca 7m
Premiere: Bayreuth (Germany), Jugendfestspieltreffen, 08-25-1981
Peter Sprenger, Mi Hyeon Kim, Leos Svarovsky
Op. 8
for two violins and harpsichord
Sovrattempo (1981)
Instrumentation: 2Vln, Hpsch
Duration: ca. 8m 45s
Premiere (in an earlier version for recorders, crumhorn and harpsichord): Paris (France), Eglise Saint-Julien – Le Pauvre, Festival des Instruments Anciens, 03-26-1982
David Bellugi, Recorder; Berry Hayward, Recorder and Crumhorn; Claire Caillard-Hayward, Hpschd
Riccardo Riccardi
Gruppo Cameristico Veneto
Direttore: Pietro Perini
Edipan 1991
Già la notte d’intorno
Dieloquio
Libero arbitrio
Tre cadenze in forma di canzona
Sovrattempo
Ad libitum
Due sonetti
Trio concertante
Triomagno
Il filo
Op. 13 ter
for piano and six instruments
Concerto for piano and six instruments (1983 Rev.2014)
Instrumentation: Solo Pno, Fl, Cl, 2Vln, Vla, Vlc
Duration: ca. 15m
Premiere: Budapest, Liszt Academy, 06/23/2014
ZAK Ensemble, Balázs Horváth, Cond
A chamber version of the Concerto for piano and orchestra
Op. 14
for oboe, clarinet and bassoon
Suite americana (1983 – 2022)
Instrumentation: Ob, Cl, Bsn
Duration: ca. 9m 20s
Premiere (in an earlier version): Bruxelles (Belgium), Istituto Italiano di Cultura, 12-02-1985, Giuseppe Nalin, Ob; Mirta Tormen, Cl; Paolo Tognon, Bsn
Op. 15
for clarinet (or violin), violoncello and piano
Triomagno (1984)
Instrumentation: Cl/Vln, Vlc, Pno
Duration: ca. 10m 15s
Premiere (the early version for two melodic lines): Trento, Università, Aula Magna, Incontri Internazionali di Musica Contemporanea, 06-13-1984
Mauro Pedron, Cl; Michele Lomuto, Trb; Marco Fumo, Pno
Riccardo Riccardi
Gruppo Cameristico Veneto
Direttore: Pietro Perini
Edipan 1991
Già la notte d’intorno
Dieloquio
Libero arbitrio
Tre cadenze in forma di canzona
Sovrattempo
Ad libitum
Due sonetti
Trio concertante
Triomagno
Il filo
Op. 16
for trumpet (or alto saxophone), piano and percussion
Combo (1984)
Instrumentation: Tpt/Alto-Sax, Pno, Perc (1 or 2 performers)
Duration: ca. 10m 30s
Premiere: Montepulciano (Siena), Auditorium di San Francesco, X Cantiere d’Arte,
07-07-1985
Ian Balmain, Tpt; Michel Heike, Pno; Thomas Witzman, Perc
An instrumental version of Ad libitum (op. 11). In its relation to the original work for piano, Combo adds the rhythm section and expands some of the ritornelli.
Op. 18
Sesquialtera
for flute and harp
Sesquialtera (1985)
Instrumentation: Fl, Hp
Duration: ca. 7m 15s
Premiere: Adria (Rovigo), Teatro Comunale, 05-29-1985
Laura Forti, Fl; Emanuela Degli Esposti, Hp
Op. 19
Tre cadenze in forma di canzona
for flute, violin and guitar
Tre cadenze in forma di canzona (1985)
Instrumentation: Fl, Vln, Guit
Duration: ca. 8m 50s
Premiere: Milano, Centro di Sesto-Rondò, Rondottanta, 05-20-1989
Paolo Zampini, Fl; Gianfranco Borrelli, Vln; Eugenio Becherucci, Guit
Riccardo Riccardi
Gruppo Cameristico Veneto
Direttore: Pietro Perini
Edipan 1991
Già la notte d’intorno
Dieloquio
Libero arbitrio
Tre cadenze in forma di canzona
Sovrattempo
Ad libitum
Due sonetti
Trio concertante
Triomagno
Il filo
Op. 24 bis
All’apparir del vero (1988, 2013)
Scoring: Picc, 5 sections of several flutes each (Fl I, Fl II, Fl III, Alto-Fl, Bs-Fl)
Adapted from All’apparir del vero (op.24) for flute, guitar, harpsichord and strings
Duration: ca. 7m
Premiere: Roma, Conservatorio di Santa Cecilia, Sala Accademica, 04-26-13
Orchestra di Flauti di Santa Cecilia; Franz Albanese, Cond
Op. 29
Trio concertante (1990)
Instrumentation: Hpschd, Pno, Vlc
Duration: ca. 8m 40s
Premiere: Firenze, Università, Aula Magna, An Exploration of Musical Traditions, 09-07-1995
Rossella Giannetti, Hpschd; Alessandra Garosi, Pno; Jacopo Luciani, Vlc
Op. 34
Tremulamente (1994)
Instrumentation: Cl and Chm, Vln
Duration: ca. 6m 40s
Premiere: Cesenatico (Forlì), Rotary Club, 12-22-1994
Gaspare Tirincanti, Cl and Chm; Piero Raffaelli, Vln
The material of Tremulamente was used in La divina nostalgia, 2nd of the Canti da Pessoa (op. 32).
Op. 42
La posta in gioco
La posta in gioco (2000)
Instrumentation: Vlc, Accord
Duration: ca. 8m 45s
Premiere: Reggio Emilia, Teatro Valli, Il mantice armonico, 05-13-2000
Andrea Pellizzari, Vlc; Roberto Caberlotto, Accord
Op. 44
L’eterno cercare senza mai trovare (2001)
Instrumentation: Accord; Vib, Glsp, Chm, Xyl, Mar, Cowb, Susp-Cymb, S-Dr, Ten-Dr (4 total percussionists)
Duration: ca. 12m 30s
Premiere: Montebelluna (Treviso), Villa Pisani, 04-01-2001
Roberto Caberlotto, Accord; Tammittam Percussion Ensemble: Guido Facchin, Cond
Op. 48
Sette pezzi facili
Sette pezzi facili (2003 – 2004)
Instrumentation: Vln, Pno
I – L’altra romanza
Duration: ca. 1m 45s
II – Fuori verso il mondo
Duration: ca. 1m 15s
III – La decisione
Duration: ca. 2m 10s
IV – Paesaggio animato
Duration: ca. 2m 30s
V – Moti perpetui
Duration: ca. 2m 40s
VI – Ostinato
Duration: ca. 2m 15s
VII – Echi
Duration: ca. 2m 10s
Op. 51
The Suite, Opus 51, for flute and guitar is a complete rethinking of the Five Easy Pieces, Opus 48, for violin and piano, with one piece added (number 4, “Ostinato”). Compared to the Five Easy Pieces, the Suite is technically n0t an easy work to play. The Suite, which has an independent opus number compared to the Five Easy Pieces, is technically not an easy work to play. In fact, most of the pieces for the new instrumental combination are actually florid elaborations of the original pieces. The only one that hasn’t been changed is “The other Romance.”
The order of the pieces in Opus 51 is not the same as Opus 48. This is the order of the pieces in Opus 51:
1. The Decision. Andante con moto is a simple ABA piece with the first part and the reprise in 3/4 time and the B part, Un poco più mosso, in 2/4. Starting from part B, the flute melody is varied as well as the reprise is.
2. Animated Landscape. Allegretto scherzoso in 4/4 time and it too has an ABA structure. Compared to Opus 48, the flute part completely and the guitar part partially are florid variations. The reprise is shortened.
3. The other Romance. Andante calmo ma fluido is in 8/8 time, each bar consistently divided into 2 dotted quarter notes and a quarter note. This version is the same as Opus 48 for violin and piano.
4. Ostinato. Inesorabile in 4/4 time is the only piece that’s added to Opus 48. It has a free structure that involves two main ideas. One of them is the actual ostinato with the guitar obsessively repeating the same rhythm over and over, while the flute plays its melody. The other is a section where the two instruments imitate each other.
5. Out into the World I. Allegretto ritmico, is in 6/8 time, alternating between one bar with two accents and one with three, as if one bar were in 6/8 time and the next, in 3/4. This time pattern and some harmonic progressions are what this number maintains from Opus 48. The melody lines and the rhythm are different.
5 bis. Out into the World II. Allegro con grazia, un poco rubato, in 3/4 time, is a free variation of Out into the World I. This version has a dialogue between the flute and guitar. The flute plays groups of fast notes which are challenging for the guitar to imitate. The performers can choose to play both I and II, or they can choose to play either one of them.
6. Perpetual motions. Moderato in 4/4 tempo, but counted as 2/2, is a piece made of three parts. In the whole piece, the flute plays a melody–the same melody as Opus 48–but with fast passages over the syncopated and ostinato rhythm of the guitar. The finale is a fade out, where the flute again plays the opening melody, but this time, augmented.
Op. 53 bis
Spirito e materia
Spirito e materia (2007)
Version for ensemble or chamber orchestra of the Finale of Act I from the opera Il ritorno di Casanova
Duration: ca. 9m 30s
Premiere (in the version for ensemble): Prato, Cantieri Culturali Ex-Macelli, ContempoPratoFestival, VI,
11-14-2008
Contempoartensemble: Mauro Ceccanti, Cond
There are three instrumentations of Spirito e materia (Op. 53 bis):
1. for chamber ensemble:
Ob (also Eng-Hn) or Alto-Fl; Cl (also Bs-Cl) or Basset-Hn; Bsn; El-Guit or Harp; Vln or Vla; Vla; Vlc; D-B
2. for chamber orchestra:
Fl, Ob, 2 Cl, Hn, El-Guit/Keyboard, Strings (4.4.4.2.1. minimum)
3. for string orchestra:
El-Guit or Harp, Strings (4.4.4.2.1. minimum)
Op. 54
L’ago della bilancia (2007)
Instrumentation: Hp, Perc (1performer): Chinese Gongs (or Glsp), Glsp, Trgl, W–Bl, Tom-tom, Duff/Tar (or Darbouka)
Duration: ca. 5m
Premiere: Vicenza, Conservatorio di Musica “Arrigo Pedrollo”, 03-22-2011
Patrizia Boniolo, Hp; Guido Facchin, Perc
Op. 55
Contesa
Contesa (2007)
Instrumentation: 2 Accord
Duration: ca. 11m 30s
Premiere: Crocetta del Montello (Treviso), Villa Ancilotto, 10-18-2008
Roberto Caberlotto , Gilberto Meneghin
Op. 60
Blu Giotto
Blu Giotto (2009)
Instrumentation: Fl, Cl/Bs-Cl, Guit, Synth, Vln
Duration: ca. 8m
Premiere: Padova, Cappella degli Scrovegni, Gioivano in coro le stelle del mattino,
03-25-2010
Ensemble Webern: Luca Belloni, Cond
Op. 67
for harp and percussion
Scambio di ruoli (2014)
Instrumentation: Hp, Perc (1 performer): Trgl, Susp–Cymb, Bell plates (C2, E2, F2) Glsp (low G), 4 Tom-toms, Bs–Dr
Duration: ca. 9m
Premiere: Vicenza, Conservatorio di Musica “Arrigo Pedrollo”, 02-24-2015
Patrizia Boniolo, Hp; Guido Facchin, Perc
Op. 69
for flute orchestra or for six flutes
Corsi e ricorsi (2015)
Scoring: 6 sections of several flutes each: Fl I, Fl II, Fl III, Fl IV(also Picc), Alto-Fl, Bs-Fl; or
4 Fl (Fl IV also Picc) Alto-Fl, Bs-Fl
Duration: ca. 10m
Premiere: Roma, Conservatorio “Santa Cecilia”, Sala Accademica, 06-13-2015
Orchestra di Flauti di Santa Cecilia; Franz Albanese, Cond
Op. 70
Contesa seconda
for chamber ensemble
Contesa seconda (2015)
Scoring: Fl, Ob, Cl, Perc, Pno/Keyboard,2Vln,Vla,Vlc,D-B
Duration: ca. 12m
Premiere: Spoleto, Teatro lirico sperimentale, Master class for contemporary music, 06/22/2015
Flavio Emilio Scogna, Cond
Op. 80
Op. 82
Op. 83
Op. 84
Vocal Composition
Op. 1
for female voice and instrumental ensemble
Già la notte d’intorno (1973, Rev. 1990)
Texts by Filippo Candiani
Scoring: Sop, Fl, Cl, Guit, 2Vln, Vla, Vlc
Duration: ca. 5m 45s
Premiere: Firenze, Società Dante Alighieri, Musica d’Oggi, 02-22-1996
Patrizia Cigna, Sop; Angelo Russo, Cond
Riccardo Riccardi
Gruppo Cameristico Veneto
Direttore: Pietro Perini
Edipan 1991
Già la notte d’intorno
Dieloquio
Libero arbitrio
Tre cadenze in forma di canzona
Sovrattempo
Ad libitum
Due sonetti
Trio concertante
Triomagno
Il filo
Op. 7
Due sonetti (1982, 1980)
Texts by Filippo Candiani
Scoring: Female Voice, Pno
Duration : ca 5m 40s
Premiere: Firenze, Sala del Buonumore, G.A.M.O., 12-02-1999
Anna Santina Giunta, Female Voice; Mauro Castellano, Pno
Riccardo Riccardi
Gruppo Cameristico Veneto
Direttore: Pietro Perini
Edipan 1991
Già la notte d’intorno
Dieloquio
Libero arbitrio
Tre cadenze in forma di canzona
Sovrattempo
Ad libitum
Due sonetti
Trio concertante
Triomagno
Il filo
Op. 23
Missa “e veterum more”
Missa “e veterum more” (1987)
Scoring (two versions): Sop, Contr, Women’s chorus, Hp/Hpschd/Org, Chm, Strings
Alternate version: Sop, Contr, Women’s chorus, Hp, Vib and Chm (1 performer)
Duration: ca. 11m
Premiere: Roma, Palazzo della Cancelleria, Musica Sacra 2, Antica e Nuova,
12-08-1987
Ensemble Sesquialtera: Enrico Razzicchia, Cond
Op. 32
Canti da Pessoa (1991 – 2002)
Texts freely drawn from Fernando Pessoa
I – Oltrepasso tempi, oltrepasso silenzi (1991)
Scoring: Sop, Vln
Duration: ca. 4m 50s
Premiere: Firenze, Università, Aula Magna, An Exploration of Musical Traditions, 09-07-1995
Gabriella Cecchi, Sop; Marco Papeschi, Vln
II – La divina nostalgia (1995)
Scoring: Sop, Cl, Vln
Duration: ca. 6m 30s
Premiere: Firenze, Università, Aula Magna, An Exploration of Musical Traditions, 09-07-1995
Gabriella Cecchi, Sop; Orio Odori, Cl; Marco Papeschi, Vln
III – Ognuno di noi è più d’uno (1997)
Scoring: 2Sop, Cl, Vln, Vlc.
Duration: ca. 2m 45s
Premiere: Towson (Maryland), Goucher College, Baltimore Composers Forum, 11-10-2004
Erin Brittain, Laura Strickland, Sop; Susan Anderson, Cl; Clay Purdy, Vln; David Shumway, Vlc
IV – Non avevo mai visto il mare prima d’ora (1997)
Scoring: 2Sop, Cl, Vln, Vlc
Duration: ca. 3m
Premiere: Towson (Maryland), Goucher College, Baltimore Composers Forum,
11-10-2004
Erin Brittain, Laura Strickland, Sop; Susan Anderson, Cl; Clay Purdy, Vln; David Shumway, Vlc
V – In riva al mare si è tristi se si sogna (1998)
Scoring: 2Sop, Cl, Vln, Vlc
Duration: ca. 3m 20s
Premiere: Firenze, Conservatorio “L. Cherubini”, Sala del Buonumore, 11-22-2007
Giulia Peri, Minako Ishida, Sop; Mirko Zingoni, Cl; Andrea Vassalle, Vln; Lara D’Angelo, Vlc
VI – Ah chissà, chissà, se non sono partito un tempo (2002)
Scoring: Bs, Vlc
Duration: ca. 2m 30s
VII – Noi siamo chi non siamo (2002)
Scoring: 2Sop, Vln, Vlc
Duration: ca. 2m 10s
Premiere: Firenze, Conservatorio “L. Cherubini”, Sala del Buonumore,
11-22-2007
Giulia Peri, Minako Ishida, Sop; Andrea Vassalle, Vln; Lara D’Angelo, Vlc
VIII – Sono passato come uno straniero in mezzo a loro or
La ballata del fallito (2002)
Scoring: 2Sop, Bs, Cl, Vln, Vlc
Duration: ca. 5m 30s
Op. 56
Destini (2008)
Texts freely drawn from Aeschylus
Scoring: Female voice, Pno
I – Il pianto dagli occhi
II – Ahi mio vagare
III – Chi regge il timone del destino?
Total duration: ca. 7m 40s
Premiere: Firenze, Chiesa di Orsanmichele, 07-06-2008
Caterina Bevacqua, Female voice; Simone Marziale, Pno
Op. 61 bis
I cori della banalità
for female voice, mixed chorus, wind quintet, timpani and organ
I cori della banalità (2010 – 2018)
Texts by Riccardo Riccardi
Scoring: Mezzo-soprano, Mixed Chorus, Fl, Ob, Cl, Cr, Bsn, Timp, Org
Duration: ca. 12m
Premiere: Roma, Conservatorio “Santa Cecilia”, Sala Accademica, Un organo per Roma Festival, 05-05-18
Federica Paganini, Mez; Ensemble Vocale Thesaurus: Alberto Galletti, Cond; Davide Stanzione, Fl; Paolo Verrecchia, Ob; Claudia Masu, Cl; Stefano Berluti, Cr; Mirko Nunziante, Bsn; José Manuel Mires, Timp; Paolo Tagliaferri, Org; Stefano Mastrangelo, Cond
I cori della banalità are drawn from the opera F.S.S.P.A., second number of Il trittico della banalità (The Triptych of Triviality).
Op. 63
Song cycle in four Notebooks for soprano and piano
Não sou nada (2011)
Song cycle
Texts drawn from Fernando Pessoa
Scoring: Sop, Pno
Notebook I
Fragments from O livro do desassossego
I. O meu desejo è fugir
II. Estou farto
III. Reduzi ao mìnimo
IV. Ha un cansaço
V. Echi as mãos de areja
VI. O prazer de nos elogiarmos a nòs proprio
Notebook II
Fragments from Poemas de Alberto Caeiro, Odes de Ricardo Reis, Poemas de Alvaro de Campos
I. Pouco me importa
II. Sim, sei bem
III. Leve
IV. Un dia de chuva
V. Se depois de eu morrer
VI. Todas as cartas de amor são ridiculas
Notebook III: Vem noite
Fragments from Dois excertos de odes (I), contained in Poemas de Alvaro de Campos
I. Vem, Noite antiquissima
II. Nossa Senhora das cousas impossiveis
III. Vem solenissima
IV. Vem dolorosa
V. Vem cuidadosa
VI. Vem Noite silenziosa
VII. Todos os sons
Notebook IV: Não sou nada
Fragments from Tabacaria contained in Poemas de Alvaro de Campos
I. Não sou nada
II. Falhei em tudo
III. Genio?
Total duration: ca. 1h 05m
Premiere: Città della Pieve (Perugia), Teatro degli Avvaloranti, 02-25-2012
Isabel Barbosa, Sop; Riccardo Riccardi, Pno
These twenty-two songs were written in 2011 on excerpts from Fernando Pessoa’s poetry. Contrary to Riccardi’s Canti da Pessoa (op. 32), these songs are completely faithful to the original texts.
The song texts were drawn from fragments of these works:
Poemas de Alberto Caeiro
Odes de Ricardo Reis
Livro do desassossego
Poemas de Alvaro de Campos
The chosen passages focus both on the emotional content of the texts and on the sounds of the words in the Portuguese language.
Op. 63 bis
Seven songs for soprano and guitar
Não sou nada (2011, 2015)
A selection from the song cycle of the same title for soprano and piano
Texts drawn from Fernando Pessoa
Scoring: Sop, Guit
Reduzi ao mìnimo
Ha un cansaço
Echi as mãos de areja
Pouco me importa
Un dia de chuva
Se depois de eu morrer
Não sou nada*
*A scoring of this song for soprano, flute and harp is available
Op. 74
Missa ad vitam
Missa ad vitam (2017) Scoring: Mixed Chorus, Org (ad lib.) Duration: circa. 20m
Music for Solo Instrument
Op. 3
Messere Lustro
Messere Lustro (1977, Rev. 1982)
Instrument: Pno
Duration: ca. 4m
Premiere: La Coruña (Spain), Conservatorio de Musica, 04-21-1980
Humberto Quagliata
Op. 6
Libero arbitrio
Libero arbitrio (1980)
Instrument: Pno
Duration: ca. 5m 10s
Premiere: Burgos (Spain), Monasterio de San Juan, Sala Capitular, 06-11-1981
Humberto Quagliata
Riccardo Riccardi
Gruppo Cameristico Veneto
Direttore: Pietro Perini
Edipan 1991
Già la notte d’intorno
Dieloquio
Libero arbitrio
Tre cadenze in forma di canzona
Sovrattempo
Ad libitum
Due sonetti
Trio concertante
Triomagno
Il filo
Op. 11
for piano
Ad libitum (1982)
Instrument: Pno
Duration: ca. 9m
Premiere: Bayreuth (Germany), Rokokosaal des Steingraeber Hauses, 10-21-1982
Raffaella Riccardi
Riccardo Riccardi
Gruppo Cameristico Veneto
Direttore: Pietro Perini
Edipan 1991
Già la notte d’intorno
Dieloquio
Libero arbitrio
Tre cadenze in forma di canzona
Sovrattempo
Ad libitum
Due sonetti
Trio concertante
Triomagno
Il filo
Op. 25
Sei pezzi
Sei pezzi (1988)
Instrument: Picc/Fl/Cl/Sax
Duration: ca. 10m
Premiere: Faenza (RA), Teatro Comunale Angelo Masini, 12-19-1991
Roberto Cornacchia, Cl
These six pieces can be performed also by any other wind instrument and can be transposed into other keys.
Op. 26, n.2
Scherzo II (1989)
Instrument: Pno
Duration: ca. 4m 20s
Premiere: Madrid (Spain), Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Musica del Siglo XX, 02-24-1992
Raffaella Riccardi
- CD
Op. 35
Sintesi
Sintesi (1994)
Instrument: Pno
Duration: ca. 10m 15s
Premiere: Roma, Acquario Romano, Progetto Musica 94, 11-05-1994
Alessandra Garosi
Op. 36 bis
Op. 37
Ludio (I e II)
for violin solo
Ludio (I e II) (1995)
Instrument: Vln
Duration: ca. 4m 40s
Premiere: Firenze, Università, Aula Magna, An Exploration of Musical Traditions,
09-07-1995
Marco Papeschi
Op. 38
Postludio – nel ricordo di un violino
Postludio – nel ricordo di un violino (1996)
Instrument: Pno
Duration: ca. 5m 30s
Premiere: Sonoma (California), Sonoma State University, 05-06-1996
Riccardo Riccardi
Op. 40
Racconto I – Racconto II
Racconto I – Racconto II (1996, Rev. 2003)
Instrument: Pno
Duration: ca. 4m 45s
Premiere: Firenze, Accademia Musicale di Firenze, 06-11-2005
Giuseppe Fricelli
Op. 40 bis
Op. 43
Da cosa nasce cosa
Da cosa nasce cosa (2000 – 2022)
Instrument: Pno
Duration: ca. 7m 30s
It is inspired by La tua immagine to which, in 2022, two movements were added.