Ildebrando Pizzetti, Assassinio nella cattedrale (1958)

Pizzeti wrote a bunch of operas, but this seems to be the only one that had any degree of staying power. Certainly, he didn't do his reputation any favors by cozying up to the government in fascist Italy, and there's also the fact that, as we'll see, he was a very old-school composer. But let's take a look at this, shall we?

It's based on T.S. Eliot's play Murder in the Cathedral. Thomas Beckett is murdered, you see. But where? To learn that...you will have to see the play. Or the opera. Either'll do. There's not much to say about the plot beyond that: a number of people warn Beckett that he should soften his hardline stance in places that contradict the king (Henry II); he won't do it. Some guys come in and warn him to cut it out; he won't. They come back and kill him. The end.

Let's talk about the music here: it absolutely RULES. Seriously. Pizzetti was--it certainly sounds like--gunning for the spot of "next big romantic Italian composer," following Verdi and Puccini. A spot that ultimately went unfilled, but with this as evidence, I can't say that Pizzetti was unqualified. Really great stuff, even if it struck people at the time as Old Hat. Very dramatic, with some great choruses and some effective chanting in Latin--excellent. Also, there's a short, spoken-word epilogue where an emissary of the king justifies the killing; in this version, that emissary is played by none other than José Carreras, the Three Tenor that everyone forgets. A pointless cameo, but hey, if you can get Carreras...get him! Why not?

However, for all I like the music here, I must say, I find the story very unsatisfactory--I haven't read or seen Eliot's play, but I suspect that's down to deficiencies in the source material. I get the very strong impression of dialogue written to be Poetic, with little or no concern with character or drama. The only person who's characterized at all here is Beckett himself, and...not much, either. And, like, why is any of this happening? Okay, we have a general idea that he's defying the king, but what does this defiance consist of? Why is it so important to him? What is he fighting for? I suppose if you studied the historical record, you could answer that question, but this isn't a historical record. It's a self-contained tragedy. It needs to stand on its own.

That said...well, I'll probably never see any other Pizzetti operas, since they never seem to be performed, but if I ever get the chance, you can bet I will jump at it. There's a lot to like here.