Composition

The opera resulted from a commission during Prokofiev's first visit to the United States in 1918. After well-received concerts of his works in Chicago, including his First Symphony, Prokofiev was approached by the director of the Chicago Opera Association, Cleofonte Campanini, to write an opera.

Conveniently the composer had already drafted a libretto during his voyage to America, one based on Gozzi's Italian play in mock commedia dell'arte style (itself an adaptation of Giambattista Basile's fairy tale). He had done so using Vsevolod Meyerhold's Russian translation of the Gozzi and had injected a dose of Surrealism into the commedia dell'arte mix. But Russian would have been unacceptable to an American audience, and Prokofiev's English was scanty, so, with possible help from soprano Vera Janacopoulos, he settled on French.^[1]

Performance

Prokofiev conducted the premiere, which took place at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago on 30 December 1921. Initial criticism was harsh. "It left many of our best people dazed and wondering"; "Russian jazz with Bolshevik trimmings"; and "The work is intended, one learns, to poke fun. As far as I am able to discern, it pokes fun chiefly at those who paid money for it".^[2] However, one newspaperman and author gave it an enthusiastic review. Ben Hecht wrote: "There is nothing difficult about this music, unless you are unfortunate enough to be a music critic. But to the untutored ear there is a charming capriciousness about the sounds from the orchestra".^[3][4]

Five years after the premiere, in 1926, the French opera received its first production in Russian, in Petrograd.

L'amour des trois oranges was not performed again in the United States until 1949 when the New York City Opera resurrected it. As staged by Vladimir Rosing and conducted by Laszlo Halasz, the production was successful. Life magazine featured it in a color photo spread. The New York City Opera mounted a touring company of the production, and the opera was again staged in New York for three successive seasons.^[5]

Memorably a 1988 production by Richard Jones for Opera North,^[6][7] later seen at English National Opera, New York City Opera and elsewhere, used "scratch'n'sniff" cards handed out to the audience, suggesting various scents matching events in the staging (gunshots, Truffaldino's "wind", the aroma of oranges).

The work has entered the standard repertory, with regular stagings on both sides of the Atlantic and at least a dozen complete recordings, six of them videos, to its credit.

Popular culture

Its most familiar section is the March, used by CBS in the radio-drama series The FBI in Peace and War from 1944 to 1958,^[8][9] as an "FBI" leitmotiv in films such as The Brink's Job (1978), and by Prokofiev himself in the ballet Cinderella.

Prologue

Advocates of Tragedy, Comedy, Lyric Drama, and Farce argue for their favourite form before the curtain goes up for a play. The Ridicules (Cranks) round them up and tell them they are to witness "The Love for Three Oranges".

Act 1

The King of Clubs and his adviser Pantalone lament the sickness of the Prince, brought on by an indulgence in tragic poetry. Doctors inform the King that his son's hypochondria can only be cured with laughter, so Pantalone summons the jester Truffaldino to arrange a grand entertainment, together with the (secretly inimical) prime minister, Leandro.

The magician Tchelio, who supports the King, and the witch Fata Morgana, who supports Leandro and Clarice (niece of the King, lover of Leandro), play cards to see who will be successful. Tchelio loses three times in succession to Fata Morgana, who brandishes the King of Spades, alias of Leandro.

Leandro and Clarice plot to kill the Prince so that Clarice can succeed to the throne. The supporters of Tragedy are delighted at this turn of events. The servant Smeraldina reveals that she is also in the service of Fata Morgana, who will support Leandro.

Act 2

All efforts to make the Prince laugh fail, despite the urgings of the supporters of Comedy, until Fata Morgana is knocked over by Truffaldino and falls down, revealing her underclothes—the Prince laughs, as do all the others except for Leandro and Clarice. Fata Morgana curses him: henceforth, he will be obsessed by a "love for three oranges". At once, the Prince and Truffaldino march off to seek them.

Act 3

Tchelio tells the Prince and Truffaldino where the three oranges are, but warns them that they must have water available when the oranges are opened. He also gives Truffaldino a magic ribbon with which to seduce the giant (female) Cook (a bass voice) who guards the oranges in the palace of the witch Creonte.

They are blown to the palace with the aid of winds created by the demon Farfarello, who has been summoned by Tchelio. Using the ribbon to distract the Cook, they grab the oranges and carry them into the surrounding desert.

While the Prince sleeps, Truffaldino opens two of the oranges. Fairy princesses emerge but quickly die of thirst. The Ridicules give the Prince water to save the third princess, Ninette. The Prince and Ninette fall in love. Several soldiers conveniently appear, and the Prince orders them to bury the two dead princesses. He leaves to seek clothing for Ninette so he can take her home to marry her, but, while he is gone, Fata Morgana transforms Ninette into a giant rat and substitutes Smeraldina in disguise.

Act 4

Everyone returns to the King's palace, where the Prince is now forced to prepare to marry Smeraldina. Tchelio and Fata Morgana meet, each accusing the other of cheating, but the Ridicules intervene and spirit the witch away, leaving the field clear for Tchelio. While Leandro and the Master of Ceremonies see that the palace is prepared for the wedding, Tchelio restores Ninette to her natural form. The plotters are sentenced to die but Fata Morgana helps them escape through a trapdoor, and the opera ends with everyone praising the Prince and his bride.

Videos

In French

• 1982: Glyndebourne Festival Opera,^[10] conductor Bernard Haitink. Staging design by Maurice Sendak. Warner box.
• 1989: Gabriel Bacquier, Jean-Luc Viala, Georges Gautier, Catherine Dubosc, Jules Bastin, Chorus & Orchestra of the Lyon Opera, conductor Kent Nagano, stage director Louis Erlo.
• 2005: Alain Vernhes, Martial Defontaine, François Le Roux, Serghei Khomov, Sandrine Piau, Anna Shafajinskaja, Willard White. Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra & Chorus of De Nederlandse Opera, Stéphane Denève, Laurent Pelly (stage director). Recorded live at Het Muziektheater, Amsterdam. Opus Arte.
• 2005: Charles Workman (Le Prince), José van Dam (Tchélio), Philippe Rouillon (Le roi de Trèfle), Barry Banks (Trouffaldino) & Béatrice Uria-Monzon (Fata Morgana). Opéra National de Paris, Sylvain Cambreling (conductor), Gilbert Deflo (stage director), Set and costumes by William Orlandi.

In Russian

• 1970: The Love for Three Oranges^[11]
• 2004: Alexey Tanovitsky (King of Clubs), Andrey Ilyushnikov (the Prince), Nadezhda Serdjuk (Princess Clarissa), Eduard Tsanga (Leandro), Kirill Dusheschkin (Trouffaldino), Vladislas Sulimsky (Pantalone), Pavel Schmulevich (the magician, Chelio), Ekaterina Shimanovitch (Fata Morgana), Sophie Tellier (Linetta), Natalia Yevstafieva (Nicoletta), Julia Smorodina (Ninetta), Yuriy Vorobiev (the Cook), Alexander Gerasimov (Farfarello), Wojciek Ziarnik (Herald), Juan Noval (Master of Ceremonies), Michel Fau (The Diva). EuropaChorAkademie & Mahler Chamber Orchestra, conducted Tugan Sokhiev. Stage Direction, Philippe Calvario. Coproduction Festival d'Aix-en-Provence 2004, Teatro Real de Madrid. DVD Tugan Sokhiev Bel Air Classics. Russian subtitles.

In English

• 1989: Opera North,^[6][7] Mark Glanville (King of Clubs), Peter Jeffes (the Prince), Patricia Payne (Princess Clarissa), Andrew Shore (Leander), Paul Harrhy (Trouffaldino), Alan Oke (Pantalone), Roger Bryson (the magician, Chelio), Maria Moll (Fata Morgana), Lesley Roberts (Linetta), Victoria Sharp (Nicoletta), Juliet Booth (Ninetta), Richard Angas (the Cook), Mark Lufton (Farfarello), Stephen Dowson (Herald), Terry Whan (Acrobat), Maria Jagusz (Smeraldina). Chorus Opera North & English Northern Philharmonia, conducted David Lloyd-Jones. Stage Direction, Richard Jones.

Audio

Recordings of the Suite

• National Symphony Orchestra cond. Leonard Slatkin, BMG Classics, 1998
• ORTF National Orchestra cond. Lorin Maazel, Sony Classical, 1991
• Royal Scottish National Orchestra cond. Neeme Järvi, Chandos, 1989
• Dallas Symphony Orchestra cond. Eduardo Mata, Red Seal Digital, 1985