The plot of this chamber opera is based on the authentic story of the Renaissance composer Gesualdo who had his wife murdered out of jealousy. The theme of the work is the transience of love. On one day’s morning a man and his wife, Count and Countess, invoke their eternal love. At mid-day the Countess is gripped by the passion for a guest to whom she gives herself away. In the evening the Count forgives her and she returns. In the night, as she opens the curtain to her bed in the presence of her husband, she sees on it the body of her lover. The Count then kills her, and, stabbed by her husband’s dagger, she collapses over her murdered lover.

For this love story of a single day Sciarrino creates a form of music which expresses the finest nuances of feeling of the human soul. In parallel to the condensing of time of the original drama, the language of the music drama appears as a crystallization of the feelings of love. The language of the lovers sounds like a continuing implosion in the narrowness of their intimacy. In this work the language of passion gives birth to a kind of singing hitherto unknown to us.

Salvatore Sciarrino

I always feel rather embarrassed when I am asked to write a short autobiographical note. I always have the impression the other side is expecting God knows what sort of adventure from me. How can you fill the essence of an entire life into just a few lines? I was not kidnapped by pirates as a child and I haven't conquered the theatres of the world either (frankly, I never dreamt I would either). Nevertheless - something I did do, I don't know whether it is worth being told: I made music the counterpoint of the banality of may vita and my face; and really, how many artists have been pushed aside, because they focussed exclusively on their work! And because I wanted to do just the same, I made a method of isolation at a specific point in my life and left the large cities behind and sought the shadows. Nevertheless, I also made a career and could present a list here of the prizes, the performances and famous interpreters, the future jobs. Without disowning my art with compromises, I would even be rich, if I hadn't always spent more than I earned. I have no more to say than that. I don't think this is about wanting to be more or less modest; I know where I have failed and what I created from nothing, and my passion for music is growing steadily. I think the future; the destiny of my music, my destiny, and the destiny of the others are entrusted to the wind. When the trees bloom, it is only to dissolve into the spring.

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