In 1947, when Donald J. Grout wrote his still-classic "Short History of Opera," he called Italo Montemezzi's "L'amore dei tre re" "one of the best Italian tragic operas since Verdi's 'Otello'."

That's quite a statement, yet it was a viable one at the time. Montemezzi was championed by conductors Arturo Toscanini and Tullio Serafin. Between 1914-48, the Metropolitan Opera gave 66 performances of "L'amore dei tre re," plus five each of two more Montemezzi operas. But then -- at the end of the tenure of general manager Edward Johnson -- the Met dropped this interesting composer entirely.

Montemezzi (1875-1952) was an Italian composer of the so-called verismo school, its music characterized by sumptuous Wagnerian orchestral writing, and an integration of broad melodies with declamation suggesting the rhythm of Italian speech. Montemezzi actually completed seven more operas, the last of which was the one-act "L'incantesimo" ("The Love Spell"). It was created for a radio performance and premiered by the NBC Symphony with top-drawer singers on Oct. 9, 1943.

"The Love Spell" had its stage premiere in Verona, Italy, in 1952. It was aired over Italian Radio two years later, then little heard until a concert performance in New York in 2007, although a private recording of the 1943 broadcast has circulated among collectors.

This weekend the Opera Theater of Pittsburgh -- directed by Jonathan Eaton, who always has a surprise in store -- will give "The Love Spell" its first American staged production in Oakland's Carnegie Museum Hall of Sculpture. The background for this tale of love and magic in medieval Italy will be an appropriate exhibition of medieval tapestries. Ticket holders may view the tapestries one hour before each curtain, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Soprano Anna Singer will portray the heroine Giselda. She points out that "The Love Spell" is "a lush romantic piece, appropriate for Valentine's Day weekend. The hardest part for me is that it's so short, only 45 minutes. I'm just getting into it and it's over." She finds the music "a cross between Puccini and Richard Strauss, with Giselda's final transformation almost like the transformation scene that Strauss had written [five years earlier] for the transformation scene in his 'Daphne.' "

Having achieved success with "L'amore dei tre re," Montemezzi married American Katherine Leith in Paris in 1921, two years after she "inherited a fortune from her father, a New York merchant," according to the New York Times announcement at the time. He chose to remain in the United States during World War II but returned to Italy in 1949 and remained there until his death.

Renowned voice teacher Claudia Pinza, whose father, Ezio Pinza, was a renowned interpreter of King Archibaldo in "L'amore dei tre re," recalls visiting the Montemezzis at their home in Beverly Hills: "I was amazed at how friendly he was with the singers. His wife was gracious and elegant. They had a beautiful house, and he liked to talk with my father about politics, especially about going back to Italy."

Sem Benelli, librettist for "The Love Spell" as well as "L'amore dei tre re," was a symbolist poet. His plot for the former concerns a medieval nobleman, Folco, who saw a doe in the wintry forest with the face of his wife, Giselda, and wounded the animal with his knife. He summons Rinaldo, his friend (and former rival for Giselda), along with Salamone, a sorcerer who tells him that to retain his wife's love, he must find the doe and bring her home. While Folco is gone, Giselda and Rinaldo express their love for each other, and Salamone tells them that "if you love him, you'll see Spring." Folco returns. He has not found the doe. He disappears, but Giselda ecstatically sees Spring and yields to Rinaldo's love.

Opera Theater is hoping that Pittsburghers will join them in this "spellbinding" musical Valentine.

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