b'PROGRAM NOTES UMBERTO GIORDANOIntermezzo from FedoraCOMPOSER: Born August 28, 1867, Foggia, Italy;died November 12, 1948, Milan, ItalyWORK COMPOSED: 1898WORLD PREMIERE: November 17, 1898, at Milans Teatro LiricoINSTRUMENTATION: Flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, trombone, timpani, harp, and stringsESTIMATED DURATION: 2 minutesA round 1890, Italian opera librettos began to move away from the epic plots and exalted characters that populated the grand operas of Giuseppe Verdi and others. In their place, a new kind of narrative emerged known as verismo (Italian for realistic or true). Verismo operas featured compelling stories about ordinary people rather than aristocratic or larger-than-life figures. Ruggero Leoncavallos Cavalleria rusticana, which premiered in 1890, is considered the first verismo opera. Within a decade, works by Pietro Mascagni (Pagliacci), Giacomo Puccini (La bohme, Tosca), and Umberto Giordano (Andrea Chnier, Fedora) had made verismo the most appealing and popular form of opera. Umberto Giordanos Fedora is an adaptation of a play by the French dramatist Victorien Sardou, who created it as a vehicle for Sarah Bernhardt. Fedora, a 19th-century Russian princess, is about to marry Vladimiro when he is killed. Fedora believes Count Loris is the murderer and shares her suspicions with the authorities. The events that follow from Fedoras actions lead to a tragic end. The Intermezzo from Act II, although barely two minutes long, has emerged as a stand-alone work and has been frequently recorded; it also makes regular appearances on orchestral concerts. Its lyrical string theme provides a gentle respite from the dramatic tension of the story.14 Santa Rosa Symphony(707) 546-8742'