OperaPremiered 1914
Synopsis
In medieval Rimini, Francesca is tricked into marrying the deformed Gianciotto Malatesta, believing she is wedding his handsome younger brother Paolo. When Francesca and Paolo fall passionately in love, their illicit affair is discovered by Gianciotto, who murders them both. Zandonai's lush, late-Romantic opera, based on Gabriele D'Annunzio's verse tragedy drawn from Dante's Inferno, is an overwhelming score of jealousy, desire, and violent fate.