"Il Prigioniero". Opera by L. Dallapiccola

About the opera

Place and date of action: A cell of the Inquisition in Zaragoza, in the second half of the sixteenth century. A rabbi is a victim of the Inquisition during the reign of Philip II. Taken prisoner, he suffers terrible tortures that cause him awful sores, but before being led to the stake, he still must undergo the last and most wicked of all tortures: that of hope. His jailer, after repeatedly whispering the word “brother”, with the expectation of the flight will create inside him the hope of regaining freedom when he suggests that he will leave his cell door open. Indeed, the Prisoner escapes through the open door and, after dodging surveillance through underground corridors, he finally comes to a big garden illuminated by a starry sky. He runs to a cedar and hugs him. He is free.

Then, from among the branches, two arms held him. “Brother,” they say, “On the eve, perhaps, of your salvation you are planning to leave?” Asks a familiar voice. The prisoner recognizes the voice of the jailer. Thus, he discovers he has been duped and that the jailer is the Grand Inquisitor, who gently takes him by the hand and  accompanies him toward the light that bounces in the background, the crackling fire. In front of it the prisoner whispers just one final question: “Freedom?”.