On 16 October 2024, the world premiere of Silvia Colasanti's new opera L'ultimo viaggio di Sindbad, a musical tale in seven pictures, with a libretto by Fabrizio Sinisi freely inspired by texts by Erri De Luca, will be performed. The opera is commissioned by the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, and staged in collaboration with RomaEuropa Festival.
This production opens a season full of commitments for the Italian composer, including her American debut with the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra conducted by Fabio Luisi in February 2025, and the new opera for teenagers commissioned by Teatro alla Scala, Anna A.
World Premiere: 16 October 2024, Roma, Teatro Nazionale
Enrico Pagano, conductor - Luca Micheletti, stage director - Orchestra del Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, in collaboration with Scuola di Canto Corale del Teatro dell’Opera di Roma
Composer's notes
L'ultimo viaggio di Sindbad is the story of a journey across the seas and the protagonist’s inner journey of self-discovery.
Through a series of pictures, akin to the stations of a secular via crucis at sea, this voyage epitomizes the age-old travelogue of man’s existence, in keeping with the tall tales of Homer’s Ulysses, Dante’s Virgil and Melville’s Captain Ahab, never far from the colossal tragedies of human trafficking that make headlines to this day.
Indeed, L'ultimo viaggio di Sindbad takes its cue from news items dealing with one of humankind’s most ancient phenomena – migration. Mass movements of people have always led to the evolution of societies and ideas, and this story, parabolic in form, shows how such upheaval spans time, cultures and a panoply of interpretations. Erri De Luca delves into biblical references to create a voyage rife with the symbolism of ancient lore as well as literary and musical archetypes.
The grand musical protagonist is the sea itself, whose many different aspects are portrayed across the variegated soundscape. The great watery expanse can at times be stormy, depicted by lava-like sonorities that are abstract and timeless. It also becomes the liquid cradle for a stillborn fetus as its mother sings a lullaby. It may be transformed into an orchestra of ancient string instruments. And what would the sea be if not an enduring emblem of hope, brought to life by the nostalgia of an old folk song guiding voyagers back to their roots? It is a theater for prayer and ritual formulas. In the dreamy, fairy tale finale, the sea is transfigured into firmament, in which the orchestra, like water, hovers just above the incredulous voices of those who at long last have sighted land.
The musical flow tells of passengers who hail from some unnamed point of departure. Traditional instruments from a number of different cultures communicate with the orchestra, while the lyrics embrace popular inflections and echoes alongside forms whose roots are predominantly operatic.
One musical picture pays homage to the victims of the Shoa, during which the orchestra takes a break, in an intimate atmosphere conjured up by percussion instruments, harp and children’s choir, symbolizing the power of remembrance in generating awareness.
Special consideration has been afforded to the choir, where the focus is on madrigalistic counterpoint. As the stories unfold, the choir becomes different characters, and at times plays the role of modern Greek chorus commenting on the developments taking place on stage.
Captain Sindbad is the consumate sailor, the infernal helmsman, who at the onset is a cynical tough guy with a harsh, raspy voice. As the opera progresses, however, his tones wax disturbingly melancholy. Haunted by ghosts from his past, by the time we reach the finale he reveals himself to be unexpectedly humane and refuses to abandon his travel companions. Like a modern Sindbad straight out of One Thousand and One Nights, he sings of the power and worth of storytelling and breaks into a soliloquy. And on a par with Scheherazade, who used her stories to cure the Persian monarch of his hatred and rancor, narration becomes humanity’s saving grace.
Silvia Colasanti
Photo: Silvia Colasanti (c) Fabrizio Sansoni