Vanessa

Vanessa (Barber). Libretto by Gian Carlo Menotti; 4 acts; first performance New York 1958, conducted by Dmitri Mitropoulos. Vanessa's country house, about 1905: vanessa's Lover Anatol left 20 years ago and she waits for his return, living with her mother, the old Baroness, and her niece Erika. Anatol arrives, but it is her lover's son: his father is dead. Anatol seduces Erika, but then becomes attached to Vanessa. Erika, now pregnant, attempts to kill herself, but recovers. Vanessa and Anatol marry and leave for Paris. Erika will wait for him to return.