Volo di notte
| Work data | |
|---|---|
| Title: | The night flight |
| Original title: | Volo di notte |
| Original language: | Italian |
| Music: | Luigi Dallapiccola |
| Libretto : | Luigi Dallapiccola |
| Literary source: | “Vol de nuit” by Antoine de Saint-Exupérys |
| Premiere: | May 18, 1940 |
| Place of premiere: | Florence |
| Place and time of the action: | Airport in South America around 1930 |
| people | |
Volo di notte (German title: Der Nachtflug ) is an opera in one act by Luigi Dallapiccola , from which the libretto also comes. This is based on Antoine de Saint-Exupéry's second novel, Vol de nuit . The work had its world premiere on May 18, 1940 at the Teatro della Pergola in Florence .
action
The opera is set at an airport in South America around 1930.
Rivière is the manager of a postal and courier airline based at the airport. He wants the technical progress and the economic success of his company at all costs and has therefore introduced night flights in order to be clearly superior to other transport companies such as rail and ship. He also does not hesitate to send his pilots on the journey in dangerous weather conditions.
Pilot Pellerin's machine has just landed. He was very lucky; because not much was missing, and a storm in the Andes would have crashed his plane. The next day, a trans-ocean flight to Europe is on the agenda. Although the current weather conditions actually require this flight to be postponed to a later date, Rivière insists that Pellerin take off tomorrow morning.
The radio operator reports that he has received a message from the pilot Fabien, who recently took off. Powerful gusts of wind bothered him. He asked to be allowed to turn back. Rivière is well aware of the danger the pilot is in, but refuses anyway.
Fabien's wife couldn't take it anymore at home. She too believes her husband is in great danger and demands that his boss order him to return immediately. But the director downplayed the danger and extolled technical progress that could no longer be stopped. Slowly the staff of the company started to rumble. Inspector Robineau, otherwise a loyal vassal of Rivières, now takes sides for the dissatisfied men. But his behavior only makes Rivière react more stubbornly. He is now even less willing to give in to the demands of the staff and the aviator's wife.
When Fabien's machine flies along the coast, the storm pushes it against a rock and crashes. The pilot no longer sends a sign of life. Everyone is shocked when they receive this message. The men now want to rebel against the director. But this again manages to calm his people down. Accidents like the one that just happened are the price that will ultimately achieve victory.
music
Dallapiccola uses the twelve-tone technique for his composition, but does not use it dogmatically in his score. It is broken up every now and then by sliding melodies, so that even listeners who are not particularly open to modern music are not frightened too much.