Il Prigioniero

Il Prigioniero ( The Prisoner ) is an opera by Luigi Dallapiccola.

Roll

• Mother (soprano )
• Prisoners (baritone )
• Dungeon Master (tenor )
• Grand Inquisitor (tenor, same occupation as jailer )
• 1 priest (tenor )
• 2nd priest (baritone )
• ' Fra Redemptor ' (silent)

Content

Prologue

The mother is waiting to visit her imprisoned son in prison. An inner voice tells her that it will be the last time. She sings from a dream that repeatedly robbed her of sleep. In this dream, their king Philip appears at the end of a dark vault. He comes up to her and turns into death. The choir from the outside ends the Prologue:

Act 1

A gruesome cell in the underground prisons Official Zaragoza. In the cell the prisoner next to the mother. The prisoner speaks of his pain and torture, but also by the jailer, who called him "brother" and he expressed the hope has returned to freedom. They are interrupted by the jailer.

The Dungeon Master appears in the cell, the prisoner should hope. In Flanders, the revolt and the bell of Roelandt could soon sound again and King Philip and the Grand Inquisitor announce the demise lift. The jailer leaves the cell, but leaves the cell door open a crack. The prisoner may be lucky not believe and slips through the open prison door.

Change of scene, the scene shifts to the underground passages of the prison. The long vaulted remember the dream of the mother from the prologue. The prisoner is on the run. It sees a "Fra Redemptor " and can be unseen hide from him. Two in-depth theological discussion priests run past him, but also do not see him. The prisoner thinks he can feel fresh air. When he hears a bell, he thinks it's the bell Roelandt. He thinks he is on target and in freedom. The choir finished the third scene.

A large garden under the stars, a cedar. The prisoner said to have escaped and moves to the big cedar. He wants to hug the cedar, the arms of the Grand Inquisitor popping out from the cedar and take him prisoner again. He recognizes in the Grand Inquisitor the jailer again, who has deceived him all the time. The hope as the last form of torture. Without resistance it can be lead to the stake.