Topic: 010) Cellini, live 1966
Synopsis
Act 1. A Room in Balducci's Elegant House
Benvenuto Cellini has been commissioned to do a statue by the pope. The pope's treasurer, Balducci, wonders why the pope employs such a "no good" Benvenuto Cellini. Cellini loves Teresa, Balducci's d daughter and visits her when Balducci is out of the house. Fieramosca, sculptor to the pope, who also loves Teresa, overhears Cellini persuading Teresa to elope. Cellini plans to disguise himself as a monk.
Act 2. Tavern's Courtyard; Piazza Colonna
Scene 1. The Courtyard of a Tavern
Cellini and his fellow goldsmiths are having a drink, but are unable to pay their drinking spree. When Ascanio, Cellini's apprentice, arrives with gold meant as payment for the casting of a statue, Cellini uses it to buy more wine. Cellini and his friends plan to embarrass Balducci for sending such a meager payment. Fieramosca's friend Pompeo persuades him to thwart Cellini's plan and abduct Teresa himself.
Scene 2. The Piazza Colonna at the Corner of the Via Corso
Balducci and Teresa attend a play in the piazza. At Cellini's urging, the players parody Balducci himself. While the annoyed and angry Balducci creates a scene, Cellini and Fieramosca descend on Teresa, both disguised as monks. A fight takes place in which Cellini kills Pompeo, Fieramosca's friend. At the same time the cannon sounds, signaling the end of the carnival, and in the confusion Fieramosca is arrested for Pompeo's murder.
Act 3. Cellini's Sculpture Studio in the Roman Coliseum
Ascanio brings Teresa to Cellini's studio. Cellini, who has escaped his pursuers by slipping into a chorus of real monks, joins them there. Balducci demands the return of his daughter, whom he has promised to Fieramosca. They are interrupted by the cardinal, who is furious that Cellini threatens to destroy the model of the statue. He gives Cellini an hour to cast the statue. Lacking sufficient gold to finish the job, Cellini melts down all his other creations. The statue is finally completed, the cardinal forgives Cellini and grants him Teresa's hand.
Benvenuto Cellini - Nicolai Gedda
Giacomo Balducci - Jules Bastin
Fieramosca - Robert Massard
Pope Clement VII - Roger Soyer
Francesco - Derek Blackwell
Bernardino - Robert Lloyd
Innkeeper - Hugues Cuisnod
Pompeo - Raimund Herincx
Teresa - Christiane Eda-Pierre
Ascanio - Jane Berbioli
Speaker - Janine Reisse
Conductor Sir John Prichard
Covent Garden, December 15, 1966
Updated: Tuesday, 17 September 2013 10:17 AM MEST
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