About the work
Eine florentinische Tragödie is a one-act opera by Alexander von Zemlinsky, based on Max Meyerfeld's German translation of Oscar Wilde's unfinished play A Florentine Tragedy. Zemlinsky composed it in 1915/16; it premiered on 30 January 1917 at the Württemberg State Theatre Stuttgart under Max von Schillings.
Plot
The Florentine merchant Simone returns home unexpectedly to find his wife Bianca with Prince Guido Bardi. In an escalating contest of strength, Simone kills his rival with his bare hands—and Bianca, for the first time, admires her husband for who he truly is.
Cultural significance
With its rousing fanfares and dark minor colouring, Zemlinsky audibly responds to Richard Strauss's Salome and Elektra, offering a late but distinctive answer to the turn-of-the-century vogue for one-act operas. After early successes in Prague, Vienna and Graz, the work fell into long neglect before being rediscovered in 1977.