L’Arlesiana

The opera L’Arlesiana by Francesco Cilea, written after the eponymous drama by Alphonse Daudet, accompanied Enrico Caruso’s stage debut. Despite the involvement of the twenty-four year old tenor, the opera was not a success. The composer undertook extensive revisions of his work, but to no particular result. It remains in the repertoire mainly because of the three famous arias, the most significant of which is the tenor Lamento of Federico: “La solita storia del pastore”. In fact, what actually brought broad popularity to Daudet’s play was the incidental music written by Bizet and performed today as orchestral suites. Lamento di Federico gives expression to Federico’s torment from the fact that his family had arranged his marriage with a woman he did not love. Instead, he is deeply in love with a girl from Arles (hence the title of the opera.)