Puccini’s first work for the stage was Le Villi (best translated as The Fairies). It is based on the same story as Adam’s ballet Giselle. Puccini’s opera, with dancing, takes little more than an hour. It is a slender work with only three characters – Gulielmo the head forester, Anna his daughter, and Roberto her fiance. Originally a one act opera Puccini revised it to two after its premiere in 1884. It was successful enough for Ricordi to publish its score and support Puccini until he had a hit – his third opera Manon Lescaut.
The story is pretty straightforward. Roberto and Anna are to be married, but he must leave to collect an inheritance. Anna worries that she’ll never see him again. He reassures her that all will be well. A siren enchants Roberto and he forgets about Anna. She waits through summer and autumn finally dying in winter of a broken heart. The legend of the fairies (Le Villi) is then explained. When a woman dies of a broken heart, the fairies force the heartbreaker to dance until death. Anna’s father holds Roberto responsible for his daughter’s death and asks the Villi to punish Roberto. Abandoned by the siren he bewails his fate and seeks forgiveness which is not granted and he dances himself to death.
The story is not one the mature composer would have chosen, but he was only 25 at the time of his first opera’s composition. Verdi was still the dominant force in Italian opera and had yet to compose his final two great operas. When you listen to this first attempt at the most difficult of art forms one is struck by a sound that even if not yet fully developed is original and unlike anything hitherto produced by an Italian composer. Ricordi obviously recognized this nascent talent and accordingly invested in it.
I’ll give two examples from the opera as proof of Puccini’s budding genius. To give more would approach playing the entire opera given its brevity. Both are from the second act. The first is the tenor aria Torna ai felici dì (Return to the happy days) in which Roberto mourns the loss of the days of his youth and his beloved Anna. The aria is frequently performed as a recital piece or on recordings. The one linked here is sung by the young Placido Domino who was at the peak of his great powers when the recording was made.
The second excerpt is the encounter between Anna’s spirit and Roberto. She tells him of the suffering that she had to endure. Roberto begs for forgiveness and he too feels the pain of Anna burning in his heart. But Roberto is not forgiven and Anna calls upon the Villi, who curse Roberto with cries of “traitor.” Then, the Villi and Anna dance with Roberto until he dies of exhaustion at Anna’s feet. You gotta feel sorry for Roberto. A siren enchanted him. There was no way he could return to Anna at the appointed time. But there’s no forgiveness in this story. The soprano in this recording taken from a staged French production of the opera is Melanie Diener the tenor is Aquiles Machado. Act 2 duet
Obviously, this maiden effort is not anywhere near the greatness that awaited Puccini in the 1890s and beyond. But given what he achieved anything by him merits attention. There are several complete recordings of the opera that are easily available. Anyone who appreciates Puccini’s unique talent should give one of them a listen.
