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When it comes to high drama, "The Sopranos" doesn’t hold a candle to early 20th century opera.
Take, for example, the Italian piece "I Gioielli della Madonna," or, in English, "The Jewels of the Madonna," set to make a South Philly appearance Sunday at the St. Nicholas of Tolentine Church hall, Ninth and Pierce streets. Nearly 100 years old, the three-act opera dives deep into theft, mafia and unrequited love – not to mention death.
"It was a kind of story that could have been a movie or TV show," said Raffaele Tudisco, the impresario of the Amici Opera Company, which is putting on the performance. "It has everything in there."
While it might mimic an episode of the now-defunct "Melrose Place," the opera is labeled a Verismo, an artistic movement that originated in Italy and uses rural characters and everyday themes.
The opera’s organizers plan to intensify the already hearty Italian culture that exists within St. Nicholas’ walls, while giving a taste of the arts to those who may not be willing to pay Center City ticket prices.
The Rev. Nicholas Martorano, pastor at St. Nicholas, had kept a flyer he acquired a few years ago that highlighted a performance by the Amici Opera Company. Late last year, he finally decided to bring a performance to the area and contacted Tudisco.
"[Tudisco] was very happy because he’s been trying to come to South Philly," Martorano said. "We were like an answer to his prayer."
The opera is keeping tune with the church’s Italian heritage, since it already hosts an Italian festival, conducts an Italian Mass and teaches the Italian language in its school, the pastor said.
However, churchgoers should be aware the opera does contain not-so-Christian themes of suicide, incest and sacrilegious theft.
Martorano could not comment on these issues since he wasn’t well-versed in the opera. However, the pastor believes hosting the performance is more about bringing the arts to the area at an affordable price for residents. Ticket prices are $20 at the door and $18 for seniors and students.
Since its October 1998 debut, Amici Opera Company has specialized in pieces not necessarily considered mainstream.
"You don’t have to come dressed very fancy and you can see an opera the bigger companies would never put on," Tudisco said. "A lot of opera companies don’t have a lot of funding and what they do is put on sure hits. We’re specifically into stuff like rare operas that nobody else does."
WRITTEN IN 1911 by Ermanno Wolf-Ferrari, "Jewels" was first performed in Berlin in December of that year. It crossed the ocean in 1912, making its American debut in Chicago, where it ran with great success for 29 years, Tudisco said.
The opera takes place during a feast honoring the Virgin Mary. Early on, the audience is introduced to Gennaro, a blacksmith with an unwavering love for Maliella, his adopted sister.
Dorothy Cardella, a Girard Estate resident and the soprano who plays Maliella, described her character’s personality as "free-spirited."
"She just wants to experience life and, like any woman, she wants to find love," said Cardella, who has worked with opera companies throughout the United States and sings locally and nationally in operas, operettas and concerts.
"She loves him in her own way, but is repulsed by the declamations he’s suddenly giving her," Cardella said of the relationship between her character and Gennaro. "The fact that she’s a little grossed out by that, she can be cruel in her comments to him."
Raffaele, a mobster played by baritone Tudisco, also pines for Maliella, who eventually succumbs to his charms.
Though Gennaro informs Maliella of her crush’s ill ways, she doesn’t care. The woman then begins to taunt Gennaro, saying Raffaele would steal the jewels of the Madonna for her. These precious items are found on a Virgin Mary statue used during the feast’s procession.
To win Maliella’s heart, Gennaro completes the theft. Maliella eventually yields to Gennaro, but their actions lead to disastrous – and deadly – consequences.
Though not overtly sexual, the performance plays on the "fine line between religious fervor and passion and the confusion one feels for physical passion," Cardella said.
"Jewels" is sung entirely in Italian, but audiences should have no problem following the plot, the soprano said.
"There are program notes, which will help a great deal, but the emotions … are obvious," Cardella said. "The drama, the staging, the characters, the actions on stage will speak for themselves."
Cardella enjoyed the dramatic and Italian styles of composition by Wolf-Ferrari, who was of Italian and German descent.
The opera’s musical style "is very complex in a good way and beautiful," she said. "He truly picked up the style of both countries in his writing and it makes for a very good challenge as a singer to embark on this kind of piece."
Before its South Philly premiere, the opera appeared in Mount Airy for two shows in 2003 and in Collingswood, N.J., for two more in 2004, Tudisco said.
Like Tudisco, Martorano hopes "Jewels" is a success here in South Philly, believing his church could then give "more opportunities in the future for operas that are more popular."
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To purchase tickets for "The Jewels of the Madonna," call 215-224-0257.
