Late in 1910 Pietro Mascagni finalized plans that would take him on a seven city tour of South America, the centerpiece of which was to be the World Premiereof his nearly completed Isabeau. The unforgettable Maria Farneti was engaged to sing the title role in the new work, as well as several more lyric roles, while the equally celebrated Celestina Boninsegna was contracted to command the spinto repertoire. Italo Cristalli and Gennaro de Tura shared the tenor assignments and Carlo Galeffi signed on for the major baritone roles. Although several operas by other composers were programmed, the trip was primarily undertaken so that the composer might showcase his operas, including Cavalleria Rusticana, Amica, Guglielmo Ratcliff, Iris and L'Amico Fritz. On 15 April, 1911 Genoa's Teatro Carlo Felice hosted a "closed" dress rehearsal of Isabeau with a few critics and opera dignitaries in attendance. Mascagni expressed satisfaction, and the next day the company sailed for Buenos Aires, on a voyage that would forever be known as "The Mascagni Tour". The season was inaugurated at the Teatro Coliseo with Aida on 6 May. Boninsegna, Ladislava Hotkowska, de Tura, Romboli and Gaudio Mansueto headed the cast. Mascagni, whose celebrity cannot be overstated, was persuaded to conduct just about every performance on the tour, and on the opening night he received a standing ovation of several minutes' duration as he entered the orchestra pit. Tickets throughout the tour were virtually impossible to obtain, and the clamor surrounding the premiere of Isabeau on 2 June created unsafe conditions in the vicinity of the opera house. The police had difficulty maintaining order, and the resulting confusion caused the performance to be delayed for well over an hour.
At Isabeau's conclusion, the ovation continued for some thirty minutes, and was particularly intense for Mascagni and Farneti. La Gazzetta dei Teatri, on July 20 said, "She (Farneti) was unparalleled and, especially in later performances, conquered all with her beautiful voice and poignancy, and particularly affecting in the love duet with Folco. The applause was extraordinary." However, Mascagni, in a letter to his friend, Anna Lolli, dated 10 July 1911 states that "I had hoped to see her in the Italian premiere of my new opera, but now, I am not so certain about that; the role is really too strong for her voice. Act three exceeds her vocal capacity." (In fact, the Italian premiere, which was stage at La Scala, went to Adelina Agostinelli, who, with Bernardo de Muro, sang eighteen performances of the work in its first season at that hallowed theater. It is certain that Mascagni worked with Agostinelli during her engagement at the Teatro Colón and that the deal was consummated while they were in South America.) The creator of Folco, "Antonio Saludas bravely coped with the role, and his performance was well received by our audience, but this role would test the limits of any tenor on the lyric stage today" - La Prensa - 3 June 1911. The critics were unanimous in their praise of opera, while conceding that the music was exceedingly difficult for the singers. La Prensa said "Isabeau is the greatest work of the composer from Livorno; the music is, without reservation, beautiful". Il Diario said "It is an opera of true art, an opera of thought, one in which the composer's artistic temperament is expressed in a fantasy that reminds of the artistic spirit of Debussy and the dramatic power of (Strauss') Salome." La Nacion observed "The enormous public that witnessed the opera saw a new direction in Mascagni's creative genius. There was not one moment that would question the triumph of the occasion, and a triumph it was". Farneti did perform the role at several other theaters, including at Naples' Teatro San Carlo in 1912.
If there was any hesitancy about Farneti in Isabeau, there was absolutely none for her portrayal of Iris. According to La Nacion, in a post-season wrapup, "Maria Farneti had the greatest personal success of the season singing the role of Iris. The partnerrship of the composer on the podium and his utterly sublime heroine on the stage leaves us with memories that will never be forgotten". Boninsegna was similarly praised for her portrayal of Santuzza, and when the company appeared at Rosario, there were dangerous scenes at the opera house when overflow crowds attempted to force their way into the theater to honor Mascagni when he conducted his most famous work.
The Rosario season opened on 22 June with Iris and continued until 1 July with the tour's first performance of Amica featuring Boninsegna, Saludas and Galeffi. At Rio de Janeiro La Gioconda with Boninsegna, Hotkawska, Italo Cristalli, Galeffi and Mansueto was added and there were four performances of Isabeau, all complete sellouts. When Cavalleria Rusticana was performed at Sao Paolo, there was a standing ovation of several minutes following the "Intermezzo" and at the opera's conclusion, Mascagni was recalled to the footlights some dozen times.
At Montevideo, De Mero's Fata Morgana received its World Premiere with Farneti, De Tura and Galeffi, after which it disappeared completely. The trip to Chile took the company over the Andes through heavy snow, and as the train approached Santiago, it was obliged to stop at several towns to hear local bands play the Italian and Chilean National Anthems in honor of the group, and especially, Mascagni, who received keys to the city and other testimonials. The entourage finally reached the Estacion Alameda at about eleven in the evening, where a huge crowd still waited to greet them. The next night, in a theater decorated with thousands of flowers, Mascagni conducted Iris to an unprecedented ovation. The company stayed at Santiago for nearly two months, and during the engagement Ernani with Boninsegna, De Tura, Galeffi and Mansueto was introduced, while L'Amico Fritz with Farneti and Cristalli replaced Amica which had received very indifferent reviews at the previous stops.
Special trains ran from Concepcion for each of the operas and large numbers of fans traveled by ship from Lima, Peru for portions of the season. On 24 Oct at Valparaiso, the tour ended, fittingly enough with Isabeau and the next day additional thousands appeared at the Valparaiso waterfront to "wave them off". The Chilean press was unanimous in stating that the tour had been the most significant musical event in memory. Mascagni returned to Buenos Aires to conduct two orchestral concerts at the Teatro Colon on 30 and 31 October.
It will forever be remembered as "The Mascagni Tour".
Bobolink
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