[1][2] Part of the reason for the lukewarm reception may have been because the house's leading dramatic tenor, Wilhelm Elsner, had died suddenly not too long before the opera's premiere, forcing another singer to learn and perform the role of Pedro in a relatively short amount of time.

[3] Its American premiere took place at the Metropolitan Opera in New York on November 23, 1908 with Emmy Destinn and Erik Schmedes in the two leading roles.

[4] The opera is fairly regularly performed in Germany and Austria, with recent new productions at the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden in April 2007, the Volksoper Wien in October 2007 and at Deutsche Oper Berlin, with Torsten Kerl as Pedro and Nadja Michael as Marta, in November 2007.

[7] In addition to Schmedes and Destinn, notable past performers have included: Kirsten Flagstad, who made her stage debut in 1913 at the age of 18 singing the role of Nuri at the National Theater in Oslo; the young Maria Callas, who sang the role of Marta at the Olympia Theatre in Athens during the 1943/1944 season and again the following season; Montserrat Caballé who, like Callas, sang Marta early in her career; and the Danish tenor, Vilhelm Herold who was considered by d'Albert to have been the ideal Pedro.

The film, begun in 1940, but not released until 1954, used Roma slave labor from a German transportation camp for some of the extras, many of whom were sent to Auschwitz before the end of the war.

[9] Before the opera begins: Years earlier, Marta, the daughter of a strolling player, had been induced to live with Sebastiano, a wealthy landowner in exchange for the gift of a mill to her father.

In order to keep his mistress, Marta, nearby and continue their affair, he plans to have her marry Pedro (in Güimerà's original play, his name is Manelic), one of his shepherds.

After the wedding, Marta, who fears that Sebastiano will carry out his intention of coming to her that night, does not go to her chamber nor accompanies Pedro, which puzzles him even more.

1983 Marek Janowski, Münchner Rundfunkorchester (ARTS 47501-2) 2002 Bertrand de Billy, Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra (Oehms OC 312) 2006 Franz Welser-Möst, Orchester der Oper Zürich (EMI DVD, video-recorded at performances in July) Footnotes Bibliography