A major work of the 20th century, Il prigioniero (The Prisoner) by Luigi Dallapiccola dates back to the end of the war and its immediate aftermath (1944-48). It is set during the Spanish Inquisition with a libretto that was drawn from La Torture par l’Espérance (Torture by Hope), an extract from Contes Cruels (Cruel tales) by Villiers de l’Isle Adam, which the composer had discovered while strolling on the banks of the Seine in Paris. Featuring three dodecaphonic series named ‘Prayer’, ‘Hope’ and ‘Freedom’, this dense, short and concise opera also includes tonal echoes that later disappeared in his two other lyrical works. The hero believes he is finally free when he finds the door of his prison cell left open and can escape for one night to gaze at the stars in the sky. However, the illusion turns out to be short-lived as the Grand Inquisitor himself would soon be leading him to the stake, which is an awful allusion to the tragic reality of life in Europe and beyond during that dark era. First performed with Hermann Scherchen at the Mai Musical Florentine, the work quickly became popular in countries across the world from New York to Buenos Aires and is still just as successful today. In this new recording of a concert in Copenhagen in 2019, Gianandrea Noseda continues his exploration of 20th century Italian composers following on from albums dedicated to Castiglioni, Petrassi, Casella and several others. This short opera (which is less than three-quarters of an hour-long) is completed by three choral works based on texts written by Michelangelo Buonarroti the Younger (the great-nephew of the sculptor from Florence) and Alcaeus of Mytilene, a Greek poet from late 7th century B.C. © François Hudry/Qobuz