OPERA in three acts by Luigi Mancinelli; libretto by Arrigo Boïto. First produced in America at the Metropolitan Opera House, March 10, 1899, with the composer conducting and the following cast: Hero, Mme. Eames; Leandro, Saléza, and Plançon as Ariofarno.
In the first act the lovers meet at a festival. Leandro, victor in the Aphrodisian games both as a swordsman and cytharist, is crowned by Hero. He sings two odes borrowed from Anacreon. Ariofarno, the archon, loves Hero. When he seeks to turn her from her sacred mission as priestess of Aphrodite she spurns his love. She invokes an omen from a sea shell, on the altar of the goddess, and hears in it rushing waters and the surging sea, that will eventually turn her romance to tragedy. When she kneels before the statue of Apollo and pleads to know her fate, Ariofarno, concealed, answers: "Death."
The second act takes place in the temple of Aphrodite. The archon claims that he has been warned by the oracle to reinstate a service in a town by the sea. He consecrates Hero to the duty of giving warning of approaching storms, so that the raging waters may be appeased by priestly ritual. He offers to release her from this task if she will return his love. When she again spurns him, Leandro attempts to attack him. For this, the young man is banished to the shores of Asia, while Hero sadly pledges herself to the new service.
In the third act Leandro has performed his famous swimming feat. The lovers sing their ecstasy. Meanwhile a storm arises unobserved. The trumpet that should have been sounded by Hero is sounded from the vaults beneath the tower. Leandro throws himself into the Hellespont while Ariofarno and his priests chide Hero for her neglect as they discover its cause. A thunderbolt shatters a portion of the tower wall and Leandro's body is disclosed. Hero falls dying to the ground, while the archon rages.
CONCHITA
Opera in four acts by Riccardo Zandonai; text by Vaucaire and Zangarini, based on Pierre Louÿs's "La Femme et le Pantin" (The Woman and the Puppet). Produced, Milan, 1911.
Characters
| Conchita | Soprano |
| Mateo | Tenor |
| Conchita's Mother | Mezzo-Soprano |
| Rufina | Mezzo-Soprano |
| Estella | Mezzo-Soprano |
| The Superintendent | Mezzo-Soprano |
| The Inspector | Bass |
| Garcia, Dance Hall Proprietor | Bass |
| Tonio, waiter | Bass |
Various characters in a cigar factory, a dance hall, and a street. Distant voices.
Time—The Present.