Composer: Charles Villiers StanfordLibrettist: Gilbert A’ BeckettYear of Composition: 1884Premiere Performance: April 18, 1884 - Hamburg, Germany July 9, 1884 - London, EnglandDuration: 2 1/2 hours (approx.)Voices: Clarice (Soprano), Francesca (Soprano), Savonarola (Tenor), Giovanni de Rucello (Baritone), Sebastiano Maraffi (Tenor), Fra Filippo (Bass), Nardi & Bandini (Baritones) & Mixed ChorusInstrumentation: picc. 2 fl. 2 ob. eh. 2 cl. bcl. 2bn. cbn - 4 hn. 3 tpt. 3 tbn. tba - cymbal, triangle, snare drum, bass drum, bell, timp - hp - org - stringsAutograph Manuscript: Royal College of Music, London - MS 4160View Autograph ManuscriptVocal Score: Leipzig: C.G.Röder 1884: Privately printed for the composer in a limited edition of 50 copiesDate Added to EHMS: May 5, 2025

Savonarola was Stanford’s second completed opera after the Veiled Prophet. It was written as a grand opera in the French style with a prologue and three acts. Like the Veiled Prophet, it was premiered in Germany and only presented in German  in both Germany and England.

The opera was premiered to considerable acclaim in Hamburg, Germany in the spring of 1884 and received four performances over the course of two weeks.  It received its London premiere in July 1884 but, due to considerable challenges with the libretto (performed in German with no English translation available), soloists (principle soprano soloist changed three times) and under-rehearsed orchestra and chorus, the critics reviews were so negative that Stanford shelved the opera.  The work was never engraved or published and there have been no performances since the London premiere. The manuscript was presented to the Royal College of Music by the composer’s son in 1939 and it has remained on the Library’s shelves until the EHMS undertook an engraving in 2024.  
The story of the ascetic Dominican friar Girolamo Savonarola (1452-1498) on which the libretto by Gilbert Arthur à Beckett is based is a fascinating look at life in Renaissance Florence and the power struggles of the time. Savonarola and his teachings have been described as a precursor to the Reformation of Martin Luther and he is responsible for the well-known ‘bonfire of the vanities’.  His fiery rhetoric, his challenge to the rule of the Medici family and his unwillingness to bend to the demands of the Pope led to his execution in the Piazza della Signoria in May 1498, the scene which closes the opera.

The opera’s Prologue set in Ferrara, Italy in 1475 , tells how the young Savonarola is forced to leave his lover Clarice because of his father’s disapproval. He decides to become a monk. The action in the subsequent three acts takes place in 1498 when Savonarola  has become de facto ruler in Florence. A group of citizens led by Rucello and including Clarice’s daughter, Francesca, plot to overthrow him. Francesca’s hatred for Savonarola dissolves, however, and she changes sides.

One of Savonarola’s followers , Sebastiano, falls in love with Francesca , but she is devoted to Savonarola and spurns him. Sebastiano is killed defending his leader. Although Rucello’s plot is foiled, Savonarola’s days are numbered. He is captured and burned at the stake. Francesca watches his death and dies in a state of heavenly ecstasy.

The work requires a huge chorus, opulent costumes and scenery and contains rivalries, passions and spectacle.

Savonarola was premiered in Hamburg in German on April 18th, 1884. It was  also given in German  in London by the German Opera Company on July 9th, 1884. The libretto was by Gilbert A’ Beckett ,who also wrote the libretto for  Stanford’s third opera, The Canterbury Pilgrims. The opera received good reviews from the German press but the reception of the London production was only lukewarm. One of the problems was that because of a copyright dispute with Boosey & Co the libretto was only available in German in gothic script, which most of the audience could not understand. The opera has not been revived since 1884.

 

Downloadable Scores and Audio

Full and Vocal Scores
Full Score Part 116.4/01ADownload Full Score Part 1 [11 x 17]
Full Score Part 216.4/01BDownload Full Score Part 2 [11 x 17]
Full Score Part 316.4/01CDownload Full Score Part 3 [11 x 17]
Vocal Score 16.4/02Download Vocal Score [8.5 x 11]
Digital Audio File(s)
1. Prologue [NotePerformer 4 mp3]Download/Play Audio
2. Overture & Act I [NotePerformer 4 mp3}Download/Play Audio
3. Act II [NotePerformer 4 mp3}Download/Play Audio
4. Act III [NotePerformer 4 mp3}Download/Play Audio
Note: Parts have not yet been prepared and will be undertaken if/when an organization expresses interest in programming the work.