Teatro Grattacielo Presents the U.S. Première of Pietro Mascagni's 1921 Opera of the French Revolution

IL PICCOLO MARAT

Teatro Grattacielo will celebrate its 15th Anniversary with the North American Première of Pietro Mascagni’s dramatic opera, Il Piccolo Marat at Avery Fisher Hall, Lincoln Center on Monday, April 13, 2009, conducted by Teatro Grattacielo’s Music Director David Wroe.

The performance will also feature the participation of over 100 choristers, combining members of the Cantori New York Chorus and the Long Island University Chorus, Mark Shapiro, Director, with the Teatro Grattacielo Orchestra.

Tickets are all on the Orchestra Level: $75 - $50 - $25 - $15
available at the Box Office or through CenterCharge at 212-721-6500

Tickets may also be purchased from Lincoln Center here, online.

Scene from Act One of the 1921 premiere of the opera

The large cast includes tenor Arnold Rawls, Turkish bass Burak Bilgili, soprano Paula Delligatti and baritone Andrew Oakden. See more about the cast here. The story concerns a young man who rescues his sweetheart and his mother from the clutches of a petty revolutionary who is determined to take revenge on aristocrats. The opera features massive choral forces, dramatic scenes of great beauty, and tender moments of love that are the rival of any Verismo opera. This is a work that deserves to be heard, and will be the only chance to hear it in the New York area, performed by a full symphonic orchestra and world-class singers, conducted by a maestro in full command of these revolutionary resources.

Pietro Mascagni around the time of "Il Piccolo Marat"

Considered by many critics to be Mascagni’s greatest achievement, Il Piccolo Marat was a huge success at its Rome premiere in 1921, receiving over 50 curtain calls. The opera went on to be produced throughout Italy, and in Buenos Aires, São Paulo, Alexandria, Barcelona, Paris and at La Scala. You can hear historic recordings here, from 1920's performances of Il Piccolo Marat.

Written during - and about - a period of great anxiety, destruction, and change, not unlike our own recent times, Il Piccolo Marat’s message is the triumph of hope over despair, of love over hatred, and of good over evil. It confirms the possibility of transformation in spite of the whirlwinds that might surround us.

Learn more about the opera at the Teatro Grattacielo website.

Teatro Grattacielo is extremely pleased and honored to present this great masterpiece to New York in its long-overdue North American Première.

Teatro Grattacielo: "Maybe you haven't heard your favorite opera yet!"

2 Riverside Drive, 2C | New York, NY 10023 | 212-595-7127 | email: verismo@grattacielo.org