Monna Vanna
Henry Février’s “Monna Vanna” was first sung in New York in 1914 by Mary Garden and Lucien Muratore. The opera is based upon Maeterlinck’s play in which Monna Vanna to save the starving Pisans goes to Prinzivalle’s tent clad only in a cloak and her long hair. The commander of the besieging army does not profit by the bargain, but treats her with the utmost respect while he discourses eloquently of his youthful love. The music is as commonplace as that of this composer’s other opera, “Gismonda.”