The Greek National Opera introduces an unknown gem from the Ionian Music School to the public. Following its remarkable success in late 19th-century Europe, Flora mirabilis returns to the Greek audience in a restored edition, presented in concert form (concertante). The masterful music of the eclectic and cosmopolitan Corfiot composer Spyridon-Filiskos Samaras, renowned for its effortless melodic inspiration, imaginative harmonic language, and intricate arrangement, combined with his deep understanding of vocal composition and innate theatrical perception of musical dramaturgy, positions him as an equal to the prominent European composers of his era.
Flora mirabilis is described as “a musical legend in three acts”. The Italian libretto was penned by Ferdinando Fontana, who also crafted the librettos for Puccini’s first two melodramas. Its allegorical plot is set in medieval Sweden. The opera was first performed at the Carcano Theatre in Milan on 16 May 1886. It was so successful that the following year it was staged at La Scala in Milan, featuring notable figures. The performance was conducted by the esteemed conductor Franco Fazzio, and the leading role of Lydia was sung by Emma Calvé, one of the most famous female opera singers of the Belle Époque, celebrated for her performance in Carmen. Flora mirabilis was Samaras’ first significant international success, which was performed at various Italian theatres, as well as venues in Cologne and Vienna. Its music aligns with the spirit of late 19th-century Italian composers, such as Puccini, Mascagni, and Leoncavallo.
Unfortunately, the opera’s score was destroyed, along with a significant part of the Italian publishing house Casa Musicale Sonzogno’s archive, in 1943, during the Allied forces’ bombardment of Milan. The only thing that survived was the edition of the reduction for voices and piano, which had been released in numerous copies and was widespread in many libraries and private collections. This edition served as the basis for the Greek National Opera’s revival of the work in April 1979, which led to a new arrangement by the legendary maestro Odysseas Dimitriadis, who also conducted the performances.
However, almost a decade ago, a significant portion of the original orchestral musical material was discovered in the musical archives of the Philharmonic Company “Mantzaros” on Corfu. In 2016, a copy of this material was entrusted exclusively to the Greek National Opera. This new material, along with the surviving original arrangement of two dance excerpts stored in the GNO Musical Library, was reviewed by musicologist, clarinetist, and Associate Professor at the Ionian University, Yannis Samprovalakis. Samprovalakis complemented and restored the opera’s original arrangement, and also curated the new edition of the score. The GNO will perform the opera in its restored form for the first time.
