ORCHESTRAL »

Bootlegger’s Tarantella
Overture for Orchestra

Instrumentation: *2 *2 2 2 / 4 2 3 1/ tmp + 2 perc/ harp/ strings
Duration: 7'

Programme Notes

This piece is based on the scenario for an opera titled Filumena which I wrote with playwright John Murrell. The opera is based on the true life story of Filumena Lassandro, a young Italian woman who immigrated to Canada in the early 1900s and settled in the Crowsnest Pass. 
She was married off at a young age and through this marriage she became involved with an Italian bootlegging ring, hence the title.

Filumena was encouraged by the head bootlegger, Emilio Picariello, to serve as a decoy on bootlegging runs; if there was a woman in the car, the police would be less suspicious of the vehicle’s contents, and they most certainly would not shoot at the car. During several of these runs across the Alberta, B.C. and Montana borders, Filumena was often paired up with the bootlegger’s son, Stefano. Despite being married to Charlie, the Picariello’s main henchman, Filumena had a brief fling with Stefano. 

One fateful night, Stefano went out alone on a bootleg run and was shot by the Constable Stephen Lawson. Word quickly returned to the town that Stefano had most likely been killed. In a fit of rage, Emilio Picariello decided to visit the constable who allegedly shot his son. With him he took Filumena as a decoy. A struggle ensued between Picariello, Filumena and the constable. Shots were fired and Constable Lawson was struck and killed. 

Picariello and Filumena were both captured. Stefano, who as it turns out was only wounded and not killed, plead with Filumena to take the blame for the crime. He explained to her that the jury, made up of Anglo-Saxons, would love to have his father executed; however, a woman is rarely found guilty of murder, and if she is, she most certainly will not be executed. Filumena refused
to take the blame and consequently both Filumena and Picariello were found guilty of the crime and executed. In fact Filumena Lassandro was the last woman to be executed in Alberta. To this day, no one knows exactly what happened the night of the murder and who exactly fired the fateful shot.

I wrote this short overture before I started writing the opera. A few of the themes from this overture have ended up in the opera, but not all of them. The first of three themes in this piece
is a folk-like melody, which eventually segues into a dance tune that one might hear at a traditional Italian wedding party; and perhaps the wedding band has had one too many of the bootlegger’s brew, especially the lower brass section... The third theme suggests the passionate elements of the story; betrayal, unrequited love, and the despair at the tragic turn of events. Gradually, the music returns to the theme that started off the piece.

Filumena premiered February 1, 2003 at the Calgary Opera.
March 2003


Audio Samples

Bootlegger’s Tarantella [1.36 MB]


Premiere

May 17, 2001
CALGARY PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

Conductor: Rolf Bertsch
Jack Singer Concert Hall
Calgary, Alberta
Canada

Subsequent Performances

ORCHESTRE SYMPHONIQUE DE LAVAL
March 3,4, 2009

Conductor: Alain Trudel
EDMONTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
September 11, 2008

Conductor: Bill Eddins, Renee Fleming Gala Concert
YOUTH ORCHESTRA OF THE AMERICAS
June 1, 2008
General Assembly of the Organization of American States, Medellin, Colombia
REGINA SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
May 3, 2008

Conductor: Victor Sawa
NEWFOUNDLAND SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
April 4, 2008
Conductor: Marc David
ORCHESTRE SYMPHONIQUE DE SHERBROOKE
April 21, 2007

Conductor: Stephane Laforest
Sherbrooke, Quebec
Canada
PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
February 11, 2007

Conductor: James Mark
Confederation Centre for the Arts
Charlottetown, PEI
ORCHESTRE DE TROIS RIVIERES
October 28, 2997

Conductor: Jean-Pascal Hamelin
MONTREAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
January 12, 13, 2006
Conductor: Jacques Lacombe
Salle Wilfrid Pelltier
Montreal, Quebec
Canada
RED DEER SYMPHONY
November 5, 2005

Conductor: Claude Lapalme
Arts Centre, Red Deer College
Red Deer, Alberta
Canada
NATIONAL YOUTH ORCHESTRA OF CANADA
July 2005
Conductor: Jacques Lacombe
National Tour
CALGARY CIVIC ORCHESTRA
April 17, 2005

Conductor: John Thompson
Jack Singer Concert Hall
Calgary, Alberta
Canada
EDMONTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
October 1, 2, 2004
Conductor: Kazuyoshi Akiyama
Winspear Centre
Edmonton, Alberta
Canada
CALGARY PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
January 10, 11, 2004

Conductor: Marco Parisotto
Jack Singer Concert Hal
Calgary, Alberta
Canada
MONTREAL SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
December 2003

Conductor: Rolf Bertsch
Salle Wilfrid Pelltier
Montreal, Quebec
Canada
EDMONTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
September 6, 2003

Conductor: Mario Bernardi
Winspear Centre
Edmonton, Alberta
Canada
LETHBRIDGE SYMPHONY
July 20, 2003

Rum Runners Day Festival
Blairmore, Alberta
Canada
CALGARY PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA
July 2003

Conductor: Rosemary Thomson
Calgary Stampede
Calgary, Alberta
Canada
SUDBURY SYMPHONY
March 1, 2003

Conductor: Victor Sawa
Fraser Auditorium
Sudbury, Ontario
Canada
EDMONTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
January 2003

Winspear Centre
Edmonton, Alberta
Canada
EDMONTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
September 2002

Conductor: David Hoyt
Hawrelak Park
Edmonton, Alberta
Canada

Reviews

 


Score/Parts Rental

For more information on score and parts rental for Bootlegger’s Tarantella, contact John Estacio. or the Canadian Music Centre