Lo schiavo

Lo schiavo (O escravo in Portuguese, The Slave in English) is an opera in four acts by the Brazilian composer Carlos Gomes. The Italian libretto was by Rodolfo Paravicini, after a play by Alfredo Taunay. The opera deals with the subject of slavery, a major concern in Brazil at the time (the institution had only been abolished by the Lei Áurea in 1888).

Antônio Carlos Gomes

As Gerard Béhague explains, "Lo schiavo is considered in Brazil to be the best of Gomes's operas, as it reflects a national subject which required and was given new treatment."[1]

Performance history

It was first performed at the Theatro Imperial Dom Pedro II, Rio de Janeiro on 27 September 1889. Also in 1889, in her first presentation as the first female conductor in Brazilian history, Chiquinha Gonzaga conducted Lo schiavo in the presence of Carlos Gomes, her close friend, who paid her homage.

Roles

Set design for act 1

Roles, voice types, premiere cast

Role	Voice type	Premiere cast, 27 September 1889[2] Conductor: Carlos Gomes
Ilàra	soprano	Maria Peri
Condesa Boissy	soprano	Marie Oster van Cauteren
Américo	tenor	Franco Cardinali
Ibère	baritone	Innocente De Anna
Gianfèra	baritone	Francesco Bartolomasi
Conde Rodrigo	bass	Enrico Serbolini
Guarûco	tenor
Tapacoà	tenor
Tupinambà	baritone
Goitacà	bass
Lion	bass

Synopsis

Time: 16th century

Place: Brazil

A drama involving Indians and Portuguese, this is the love story of Américo, son of Count Rodrigo, and Ilàra, who is forced to marry another Indian called Ibère.

References

1. Béhague, Gerard (1992). "Lo schiavo". In Stanley Sadie (ed.). The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. London. p. 218. ISBN 0-333-73432-7.
2. Casaglia, Gherardo (2005)."Lo schiavo, 27 September 1889". L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia (in Italian).

Further reading

• Holden, Amanda (ed.), The New Penguin Opera Guide, New York: Penguin Putnam, 2001. ISBN 0-14-029312-4