Cristoforo Colombo
Opera in three acts and an epilogue, by Alberto Franchetti, text by Luigi Illica. Produced, Genoa, 1892; in revised version, same year, at La Scala, Milan. Metropolitan Opera House, Philadelphia, November 20, 1913, with Titta Ruffo.
Characters
| Cristoforo Colombo | Baritone |
| Queen Isabella of Spain | Soprano |
| Don Fernando Guevara, Captain of the Royal Guards | Tenor |
| Don Roldano Ximenes, Spanish Knight | Bass |
| Matheos, Foreman of the Crew | Tenor |
| Anacoana, Indian Queen | Mezzo-Soprano |
| Iguamota, her daughter | Soprano |
| Bobadilla, False Messenger of the King of Spain | Bass |
Time—Before, during, and soon after Columbus’s voyage of discovery.
Place—Spain and America.
In act first, on the square in Salamanca, Colombo learns that the council has rejected his plans. In the convent of San Stefano Queen Isabella is praying. Colombo tells her of the council’s acts. She promises him the ships. In act second, on the Santa Maria, the sailors mutiny. At the critical moment Colombo points to a distant shore. In act three, Roldano, an enemy to Colombo, has slain an Indian king. The Indian queen, Anacoana, pretends to love her husband’s slayer, hoping for opportunity to avenge his death. But an Indian uprising is quelled and Bobadilla, a false messenger arriving from Spain, announces that Colombo has been deposed from authority, and Roldano been made viceroy in his stead.
The epilogue shows the royal tombs of Spain. Colombo—the librettist here stretching historical license—learning that Queen Isabella has died and is buried here, expires upon her tomb.