Le Villi (The Willis) - Giacomo Puccini
Information about the opera Le Villi by Giacomo Puccini, and the best recordings available on CD or DVD, or for download.
Puccini's first opera, written for a competition while he was a student.
Synopsis
In the Black Forest the villagers celebrate the engagement of Roberto and Anna. Roberto leaves for Mainz to collect an inheritance, but assures Anna that he will be eternally faithful.
However while in Mainz Roberto is seduced, and as a result Anna dies of a broken heart. Roberto returns, full of remorse, and is confronted by the Willis, the ghosts of forsaken young girls. Anna appears in their midst, and he falls dead at her feet.
Recommended recordings on CD
Guidarini/Diener/Machado (Naïve Radio France V4958)
Radio France Chorus, Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Marco Guidarini, 2002.
Cast: Mélanie Diener (Anna), Aquiles Machado (Roberto), Ludovic Tézier (Guglielmo).
Naïve Radio France V4958