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Stanislao Gastaldon

Martino Stanislao Luigi Gastaldon was born in Turin on April 6, 1861 and learned his first musical notions from his father Luigi. After moving to Florence, he studied piano with Torquato Meliani and composition with Antonio Creonti graduating at the same time in literature. Gifted with a natural melodic facility, he soon debuted as a composer of vocal chamber music and short pages for piano, achieving great popularity with the romance Musica proibita, on verses by Flick-Flock (a pseudonym of Gastaldon himself). Also dating from the same late 19th century period are numerous pieces with a military character, such as the musical fantasy Memorie del reggimento, and several marches for piano. Later he devoted himself to writing Fatma, a play in four acts, to a libretto by Marco Praga, which was never performed. It was followed by Mala Pasqua on a libretto by Gian Domenico Bartocci Fontana, based on Giovanni Verga’s Cavalleria rusticana, The third opera, Il Pater (libretto by Vittorio Bianchi from the play of the same name by François Coppée), performed at the Teatro Manzoni in Milan in 1894, was revived at the Niccolini in Florence on April 25, 1905, on the occasion of the premiere of Stellina (libretto also by Bianchi). Meanwhile, Gastaldon composed the hymn for the Dante Alighieri Society (Siena, 1902), which was followed by the stage vision Il sonetto di Dante (Genoa, Politeama, 1909), successfully revived in various cities in Russia. His theatrical activity ended with Il reuccio di Caprilana, a comic opera in three acts first staged at the Balbo Theater in Turin in 1914. From that date Gastaldon devoted himself mainly to the production of chamber romances and characteristic pieces for piano, an activity he alternated with that of music critic for the Nuovo Giornale di Firenze. He died in Florence on March 6, 1939.

Vittorio Bianchi

Vittorio Bianchi was born in Avezzano on December 23, 1865. He was an eclectic figure in the Italian artistic scene of the early 20th century. He wrote libretti for Lisette by Icilio Nini Bellucci, Ruit hora by Ettore Ricci, Manuel Menendez by Lorenzo Filiasi, and Hoffmann by Claudio Laccetti, as well as Il pater and Stellina for Gastaldon. But he was also a playwright and, above all, wrote for the cinema (La lussuria and La serpe). For the cinema he was also an actor, curiously participating in, among others, Bel Sorel, the operatic films Fedora and Tosca in the 1920s and working frequently with Francesca Bertini, the diva of Italian silent films. The place and date of his death are, unfortunately, unknown. 

Stellina

Based on an original idea by Gastaldon himself, the libretto of Stellina was entrusted to Vittorio Bianchi. The opera was performed along with Il pater at the Teatro Niccolini in Florence on April 25, 1905, and was excellently performed by soprano Bel Sorel, known as Blanche Lescaut, and tenor Giuseppe Agostini. No subsequent revivals are reported although the opera was praised by critics for its clear and elegant writing.

Synopsis

Stellina is alone and ironing while awaiting the arrival of Luigi, her lover. Upon his arrival, Stellina scolds him for not coming the previous evening, but Luigi manages to convince her of his love. As soon as Luigi leaves, Maria, a neighbor who has come to pick up the ironed laundry, arrives. The two women confide in each other and Maria urges Stellina to be happy with Luigi but not to trust men too much. Left alone again, Stellina invokes Our Lady. When Luigi returns, the two protagonists swear eternal love to each other.