Librettist: Antonio Prefumo
Heroic drama
Date: 1839
Language: Italian
Large-scale
D. Affonso: bass
D. Pedro: baritone
D. Ignez de Castro: soprano
D. Sancho: tenor
Coelho:
Pacheco:
Ambassador of Castile: tenor
Elvira: soprano
Two Children:
Chorus
The opera takes place in Coimbra and narrates the tragic story of Inês de Castro, the true love of D. Pedro, son of King Afonso IV of Portugal. The king plans a socially advantageous marriage for D. Pedro, but the latter remains in love with Inês, despite the relationship being ill-regarded by the court. Inês and Pedro face the opposition of Afonso IV, who fears the diplomatic and social consequences of this union. The court discusses Inês’s future – some defend her protection, others insist on her elimination – and the divided heart of D. Afonso wavers between reason and pity, as Pedro’s passion for Inês grows, contrary to his father’s and the State’s wishes. The tragedy culminates when the king, undecided and influenced by the pressure of his advisors, opts to decree Inês’s death. Thus, cruel destiny sacrifices love – Inês dies, and so does Afonso IV, defeated by the evil he has caused, condemning Pedro to a life of suffering and cruelty.
Orchestra
Score (piano): Biblioteca Nacional de Portugal
The story of Inês de Castro was retold many times in the operatic world – in Florence in 1793 by Gaetano Andreozzi, in Naples the following year by Giuseppe Francesco, in the same city in 1806 by Giuseppe Farinelli, among several other occasions.1 However, in the 1830s, the theme once again drew attention due to the emergence of Giuseppe Persiani’s opera D. Inez de Castro on a libretto by Salvatore Cammarano, presented in Naples in 1835. In Portugal, at that time – or, in fact, a little before this premiere in the Italian city – Manoel Innocencio Liberato dos Santos composed the music for another version of the story, written by the Genoese poet based in Portugal, Antonio Prefumo. The text of this poet “aligns with the Portuguese tradition, both through the death of the heroine by stabbing rather than poisoning […], and through the introduction of the names of the true assassins, Coelho and Pacheco”.2
Date: 1839
Venue: Teatro de São Carlos, Lisbon
Cast: Lucio Marianni, Filippe Coletti, Claudia Ferlotti, Caio Eckerlin, Carlos Crosa, José Romonda, Domingos Conti, Josepha Emilia Secchioni and the Orchestra of the Teatro São Carlos
