Abstract

"Iuturna" is a lyrical drama in three acts based on Virgil's "Aeneid" and composed between 1909 and 1912 by the Paduan musician, Guido Alberto Fano, on a libretto by the historian, geographer and writer, Ettore Tolomei from Trento. The essay - based on Fano's and Tolomei's correspondence which is kept in the Fano Archives in Venice and at the Maso Tolomei Archives in Gleno, Alto Adige - covers the plight of this opera: its conception during the early years of the twentieth century, various moments of its composition and especially the numerous attempts to have the work staged by both the composer and the librettist over a period of more than thirty years. These attempts involved important figures such as, to name but a few: Serafin, Toscanini and Marinuzzi on the musical scene, political figures such as Mussolini, Federzoni and Alfieri, in the political sphere and San Martino and Carelli at the more specifically theatrical level. The entire affair captures an unlucky but meaningful adventure in the world of Italian theatre which at the beginning of the twentieth century was extremely complex and multi-faceted.