New edition of the libretto of "The Oath" (La Jura) by Gavino Gabriel

The new edition of the libretto of "La Jura" by Gavino Gabriel is based on the last unpublished version of the score, composed in 1959. During his stay in Eritrea, where Gavino Gabriel lived from 1932 to 1953, he commissioned Walter J. Regan, at the time Director of Education of the British Military Administration of Eritrea, to translate the libretto of his opera "La Jura" into English. Regan's translation has a great historical value, both because the typewritten text shows some handwritten corrections by Gabriel and because the text in English includes several comment notes clarifying some parts of the libretto – mainly the ones connected to popular traditions in Sardinia – which might be difficult to understand for an international audience. It is hard to imagine that the translator could have unraveled the most difficult aspects of the text without a constant exchange of views with the author: the text is therefore the result of a joint work between the author and the translator, carried out with common diligence and passion. Regan's translation refers to the 1927 edition of the libretto and does not, therefore, correspond to the text of the last version of the score, which after various revisions was finalized by the author in 1959. In many passages, this new edition of the libretto is quite different from the one dated 1927; as a consequence, also Regan's translation underwent a revision and adaptation process, in order for it to correspond to the new version of the libretto.