For decades, Ennio Morricone has been celebrated worldwide for his legendary film soundtracks – but until now, his reach into the realm of opera remained hidden. Written in the mid–1990s, his only opera, Partenope (Music for the Siren of Naples), never saw the stage for nearly thirty years. That silence ends this December, when the opera finally receives its first full production at the Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, as part of the city’s 2,500–year founding celebrations.
Partenope is a chamber opera with a small but evocative ensemble: two sopranos share the title role, supported by a tenor, narrator, and female chorus. The instrumentation mixes classical orchestra with evocative touches inspired by ancient and regional sounds – flutes, harps, Naples–style percussion, and a carefully textured string section.
With this work, Morricone moves away from both the strict avant–garde of his early “Nuova Consonanza” period and the sweeping cinematic style that made him famous, revealing instead a more experimental, intimate musical voice.
In this mythic retelling, the siren Partenope – tied to the legend of Naples’ origins – becomes a symbol of duality: seduction and loss, mortality and rebirth. The dual soprano casting mirrors that ambivalence, giving voice to both earthly passion and ethereal melancholy. The result is a haunting, atmospheric soundscape: whispered chorus lines, waves of strings, percussion like distant footsteps across waves. It’s music that reaches deep into memory and myth rather than a conventional operatic drama.
The 2025 production is shaped by a contemporary artistic vision under the direction of Vanessa Beecroft, with musical direction by Riccardo Frizza. The staging promises a visual and emotional journey – minimalistic yet symbolic, turning the stage into a space of myth and introspection. For many, this revival marks the rediscovery of a hidden facet of Morricone’s genius, one rarely heard amid his famous film scores. Partenope offers a unique bridge between cinematic memory and operatic myth, inviting listeners to explore a different, more intimate side of the composer’s legacy.
