Mateo Falcone (opera)

The libretto was adapted by the composer from Prosper Mérimée's like-named story from 1829 and Vasily Zhukovsky's verse rendering thereof.

It was premiered on 14 December 1907 (Old Style), at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow (the work was given along with the composer's early one-act comic opera, The Mandarin's Son).

The musical setting of the text of Mateo Falcone has a declamatory-melodic character, in keeping with the composer's veneration, if not slavish emulation, of Alexander Dargomyzhsky's method of "melodic recitative," which had been most thoroughly demonstrated in The Stone Guest.

There are no extractable "numbers" from this opera to speak of, although highlights include the orchestral passages that suggest the rustic scenery with a kind of barcarolle, and the intimate Latin prayer near the end (a setting of "Ave Maria"), which is reminiscent of the composer's art songs.

After Gamba tells them of their son's help in capturing Sanpiero, the wounded man curses the Falcone household for betrayal as he is carried away.