Francesca di Rimini (compl.)

Sergei Rachmaninoff's only completed opera "Francesca da Rimini" was written around the turn of the century by a still young composer who had already developed his characteristic late-Romantic musical language. The opera combines Rachmaninoff's melodic inventiveness with his mastery of orchestral writing and shows clear influences of the Russian national school, particularly Tchaikovsky's.

The music is distinguished by those melancholy, expansive melodies that characterize Rachmaninoff's entire output. The large orchestra with expanded wind section and a banda enables differentiated tonal colors ranging from the most intimate chamber music moments to dramatic orchestral tuttis. The harmonic language moves between late-Romantic chromaticism and Russian modality.

Although the opera occupies a special position in Rachmaninoff's complete works, since he later devoted himself primarily to instrumental music, it already reflects his mature compositional abilities. The musical setting of Dante's subject matter is said to have been particularly close to the composer's heart, even though the work never achieved the popularity of his piano concertos or symphonies.