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Music: Amilcare Ponchielli. Lyrics: Arrigo Boito after Victor Hugos play Angelo, tyran de Padoue.
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First performance: Milano, La Scala 8 april 1876.
| Role | Voicetype |
|---|---|
| Alvise Badoèro | bass |
| Barnaba | baritone |
| Enzo Grimaldo | tenor |
| Isèpo | tenor |
| La Cieca | alto |
| La Gioconda | soprano |
| Laura Adorno | mezzosoprano |
| Un cantore | bass |
| Un pilota | bass |
| Zuàne | bass |
An exited crowd is waiting in front of the Doge´s Palace in Venice for the signal signifying the beginning of a gondola race. A fanfare summons them to the canal, leaving one of the inquisition´s spies, Barnabas, in the courtyard. La Gioconda, a street singer, leads her blind mother La Cieca into the square and is observed by the bidden Barnaba who is determined to seduce her. Gioconda asks her mother to wait in front of the church while she looks for Enzo with whom she is in love. The latter is a Genoese nobleman who has taken his life into his hands by secretely returning to Venice disguised as a sea captain to find his former betrothed Laura, meanwhile married to the State Inquistor Alvise Badoero.
As Gioconda leaves to look for Enzo, Barnaba blocks her path and makes known his lustfuldesires, but she rejects his advances and burries away. Barnaba determines to use La Cieca as a means of having his way with Gioconda. The crowd returns and acclaims the winner, Barnaba tells Zuàne, the loser, that the magic spells of the blind La Cieca were responsible for his defeath, a comment overheard by Isèpo and some seamen who promptly want to burn the "witch". Prevented from doing so by Gioconda and Enzo, the latter rebukes the crowd for attacking a helpless old woman but is then threatened himself by the furious populace. Laura and her husband appear masked, and Alvise reminds the crowd that only the Inquisition can determine La Ciecas guilt or innocence as a witch. Gioconda pleads for mercy on behalf of her mother and Laura´s intercession with Alvise gains the old womans release. When Gioconda asks her benefactresses name and Laura replies, Enzo recognizes his lost beloved. La Cieca gives Laura her rosary as a token of gratitude. Alvise orders the crowd into the church, Barnaba, who has recognized Enzo as a man wanted by the Venetitan authorietes, challenges hm with is full name: but Enzo denies his true identity. Barnaba, however, knows to much about Enzo´s past relationships with both Laura and Gioconda and cynically offers to arrange for Enzo´s escape with Laura that evening, a plan to which Enzo agrees although cursing Barnaba for his services to the Inquistiton. When Enzo has left, Barnaba dictates a letter to Alvise advising him of Laura´s plan to escape. He is overheard by Gioconda who, saddened at Enzo´s faithlessness, makes her way through the crowd with her blind mother.
Enzo´s ship, the "Hecate", is anchored by a solitary island in one of the Venetian lagoons. Barnaba och Isèpo appear disguised as fishermen. Barnaba directs Isèpo how best to capture the ship. Enzo orders his crew below as Laura comes on board, and the lovers embrace. While he is making preparations to set sail Laura kneels before a shrine to pray and is confronted by the masked Gioconda. But just as the jealous Gioconda is about to stab her rival, a ship bearing Alvise is seen approaching. Laura´s renewed pleas, rosary in hand, cause Gioconda to recognize her mother´s rescuer, and she quickly gives Laura her mask and helps her to escape. Barnaba arrives too late and hurries after Laura. Enzo returns., calling for Laura, but finds Gioconda in her place. She warns him that he has been betrayed and to prevent his ship from falling into the hands of approaching Venetians he sets it alight.
A celebration is to take place in Alvise´s house, the Cà d´Oro. He is determined that Laura must pay for her faithlessness with her life. He presses a vial of poison into her hand and instructs her to drink it. After he has left, Gioconda anticipating Alvise´s revenge on Laura, hurries in and gives her a strong sleeping draught to replace the poison which she pours into her own flask. Gioconda hides when Alvise returns to see if his orders have been carried out. Seeing Laura immobile on the bier he supposes her to be dead and - pleased with the success of his diabolical plan - returns to the festiviets.
While Alvise greets his guests Gioconda mingles with them. They are entertained by a ballet, the "Dances of the Hours, but when it is over Barnaba drags in La Cieca whom he had discovered in a forbidden room. She claims she merely wanted to pray for "her,, who has just died", and the tolling of the passing bell is heard. Enzo, secretely present, asks Barnaba the identity of the deceased: He replies "Laura!" The guests gaiety vanishes. Alvise´s insistence that all present should enjoy themselves as long as be happy so infuriates Enzo that he tears off his mask and Alvise orders him to be arrested. Gioconda promises to sumit to barnaba´s desire if he will save Enzo, to which the spy agrees.
Two men bring the still unconscious Laura to Gioconda in a deserted house on another island, and as they leave she pleads with them to search for her mother. Gioconda is torn between thoughts or murdering Laura and committing suicide when she hears the distant voices of two gondoliers calling to each other sill more corpses - victims of the Inquisition - are floating In the canals. Her thoughts turn to Enzo who soon appears and is horrified that what he interprets as Gioconda´s jealously should have caused her to have Laura´s body taken out of the grave. As he is about to stab Gioconda, Laura awakens. Enzo rushes to her side, and the lovers thank Gioconda as a boat takes them to safety. Left alone, Gioconda prays to the Madonna to help her mother as Barnaba comes to claim his promised reward. Pretending to adorn herself for his pleasure, she seizes a dagger and stabs herself. As she dies, the frustrated Barnaba shouts ewilly into her ear that he has already had his revenge: he had drowned her mother the night before.
Adress:http://www.mogensoperasidor.se/lagiocondaenglish.htm