Cecilia (Refice opera) explained

Cecilia is a 1934 sacred opera by Licinio Refice to a libretto by Emidio Mucci.^[1] At the premiere in Rome in February 1934 Claudia Muzio sung the role of Cecilia. The Act 3 aria "Grazie sorelle" has since been recorded by several sopranos including Renata Tebaldi in 1955, and Hera Hyesang Park in 2024.

Roles

• L’Angelo di Dio (soprano)
• Cecilia (soprano)
• Valeriano (tenor)
• Tiburzio / Amachio: (baritone)
• La vecchia cieca (mezzo-soprano)
• Il Vescovo Urbano (bass)
• Un liberto/un neofita: (tenor)
• A slave (baritone)

Discography

• 1973 live, abridged - Renata Scotto (St Cecilia), Harry Theyard (Valerian), George Fourié (Almachis) directed Angelo Campori VAI 73 minutes
• 2015 Denia Mazzola Gavazzeni (soprano), Fabrizio Mercurio, Pilade Carrai, Corrado Cappitta (baritone), Giuseppe Veneziano (tenor), Kulli Tomingas (mezzo-soprano), Riccardo Ristori (baritone), Serena Pasquini Orchestra Filarmonica Italiana, Coro la Camerata di Cremona, Marco Fracassi Bongiovanni 2CD 2 hours 6 minutes
• live 2022 Elena Schirru, Marta Mari, Mickael Spadaccini, Leon Kim, Orchestra del Teatro Lirico di Cagliari, Giuseppe Grazioli. Dynamic, 2CD 1 hour 53 minutes^[2]

Notes and References

1. David Mason Greene · Greene's Biographical Encyclopedia of Composers 1985 - Page 1149 "... opera Cecilia, completed in 1923 but not produced until 1934 (in Rome). Various prime donne, beginning with Claudia Muzio and including the Renatas Tebaldi and Scotto, have continued to use it as a showcase for their talents."
2. https://musicwebinternational.com/2023/08/refice-cecilia-dynamic/ Review