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=== Contract and cancellation ===
=== Contract and cancellation ===
On 5 January 1840, Donizetti signed a rehearsal and performance contract with his librettists and Anténor Joly,<ref name=Ashbrook145/> who was operating a company named [[Théâtre de la Renaissance]] and giving performances at the [[Salle Ventadour]] in Paris.<ref name=Ashbrook142>Ashbrook, p. 142</ref> Théâtre de la Renaissance chose ''L'ange'' over [[Richard Wagner]]'s ''[[Das Liebesverbot]]''.<ref name=Fauser>Fauser and Everist p.233</ref> Joly's company had premiered the French version of Donizetti's ''[[Lucia di Lammermoor]]'' the previous year, and ''L'ange'' was meant to be its successor.<ref name=Marston>Marston</ref> The contract, which is on display at the [[Bibliothèque-Musée de l'Opéra National de Paris]], stipulates that ''L'ange'' be performed uninterrupted twenty times unless three consecutive performances sold poorly, and that Joly could not premiere any other opera until the revenue from ''L'ange'' started to decline. The contract contains nothing about Donizetti's compensation; therefore, it is possible that another contract existed.<ref name=Ashbrook650>Ashbrook, p. 650</ref> ''L'ange'' was set to begin rehearsal on 1 February 1840. Donizetti had two other operas in various stages of preparation at other theaters during this time: ''[[Poliuto|Les martyrs]]'' and ''La fille du régiment''.<ref name=Ashbrook145/>
On 5 January 1840, Donizetti signed a rehearsal and performance contract with his librettists and Anténor Joly,<ref name=Ashbrook145/> who was operating a company named [[Théâtre de la Renaissance]] and giving performances at the [[Salle Ventadour]] in Paris.<ref name=Ashbrook142>Ashbrook, p. 142</ref> Théâtre de la Renaissance chose ''L'ange'' over [[Richard Wagner]]'s ''[[Das Liebesverbot]]''.<ref name=Fauser>Fauser and Everist p.233</ref> Joly's company had premiered the French version of Donizetti's ''[[Lucia di Lammermoor]]'' the previous year, and ''L'ange'' was meant to be its successor.{{sfn|Marston}} The contract, which is on display at the [[Bibliothèque-Musée de l'Opéra National de Paris]], stipulates that ''L'ange'' be performed uninterrupted twenty times unless three consecutive performances sold poorly, and that Joly could not premiere any other opera until the revenue from ''L'ange'' started to decline. The contract contains nothing about Donizetti's compensation; therefore, it is possible that another contract existed.<ref name=Ashbrook650>Ashbrook, p. 650</ref> ''L'ange'' was set to begin rehearsal on 1 February 1840. Donizetti had two other operas in various stages of preparation at other theaters during this time: ''[[Poliuto|Les martyrs]]'' and ''La fille du régiment''.<ref name=Ashbrook145/>


Later in January, Joly terminated all opera productions of the Théâtre de la Renaissance company due to financial hardship, despite a reported 5,000-franc loan from Donizetti. Joly tried to keep the operation afloat by staging ballets, but it closed completely in May 1840.<ref name=Ashbrook145/> He filed for bankruptcy and therefore avoided paying Donizetti the large fee owed for backing out of the production.<ref name=Ashbrook145/> Writing for the ''Cambridge Opera Journal'', Mark Everist referred to ''L'ange'' as one of "the most spectacular casualties of the collapse of music drama at the Théâtre de la Renaissance".<ref name=Everist158/>
Later in January, Joly terminated all opera productions of the Théâtre de la Renaissance company due to financial hardship, despite a reported 5,000-franc loan from Donizetti. Joly tried to keep the operation afloat by staging ballets, but it closed completely in May 1840.<ref name=Ashbrook145/> He filed for bankruptcy and therefore avoided paying Donizetti the large fee owed for backing out of the production.<ref name=Ashbrook145/> Writing for the ''Cambridge Opera Journal'', Mark Everist referred to ''L'ange'' as one of "the most spectacular casualties of the collapse of music drama at the Théâtre de la Renaissance".<ref name=Everist158/>


=== Reworking ===
=== Reworking ===
Donizetti managed to retrieve the score of ''L'ange de Nisida'' from Joly's company<ref name=Marston>Marston</ref> and reworked it as ''[[La favorite]]'' (now more commonly known by its Italian title, ''La favorita'') in September 1840 for a December premiere in Italy.<ref name=Ashbrook569>Ashbrook, p. 569</ref> To circumvent the Italian censors Donizetti agreed to plot modifications; ''La favorite'' is about a medieval King of Castile.<ref name=Marston>Marston</ref>
Donizetti managed to retrieve the score of ''L'ange de Nisida'' from Joly's company{{sfn|Marston}} and reworked it as ''[[La favorite]]'' (now more commonly known by its Italian title, ''La favorita'') in September 1840 for a December premiere in Italy.<ref name=Ashbrook569>Ashbrook, p. 569</ref> To circumvent the Italian censors Donizetti agreed to plot modifications; ''La favorite'' is about a medieval King of Castile.{{sfn|Marston}}


[[File:Lafavorita.jpg|thumb|left|upright|alt=The cover of a souvenir libretto from the opera ''La favorita'', featuring age-related spots and browning. The names of the composer and librettists, the title of the opera, and the price of the libretto (25 Chilean centavos).|A souvenir libretto from ''La favorita'']]
[[File:Lafavorita.jpg|thumb|left|upright|alt=The cover of a souvenir libretto from the opera ''La favorita'', featuring age-related spots and browning. The names of the composer and librettists, the title of the opera, and the price of the libretto (25 Chilean centavos).|A souvenir libretto from ''La favorita'']]
The presence and influence of ''L'ange'' is evident in Donizetti's autograph score of ''La favorite'', which features "large chunks" of ''L'ange'' "cut up and interleaved" in which new character names and text for ''La favorite'' overwrite the old. The final page of ''L'ange'' was used as the final page of ''La favorite''; therefore, both operas bear the same finish date on the last page.<ref name=Ashbrook654>Ashbrook, p. 654</ref> Donizetti's contract for ''La favorite'' demanded a 1 December 1840 premiere, leaving him little time for dramatic changes.<ref name=Ashbrook153>Ashbrook, p. 153</ref> In his 1965 biography ''Donizetti'', Ashbrook surmises that this tight deadline gave rise to the legend that Donizetti actually composed the last act of ''La favorite'' in a single night.<ref name=Winton439>Winton (1965), p. 439</ref> In fact, the libretto of ''L'ange'' and the autograph score of ''La favorite'' make clear that the final act of ''La favorite'' was completed long before Donizetti began the rest of it in September—Donizetti lifted it from ''L'ange'' with the exception of two solo passages.<ref name=Ashbrook154>Ashbrook, p. 154</ref> He brought in librettist [[Eugène Scribe]] to oversee the new text, which also required the approval of starring mezzo-soprano Rosine Stoltz. The finished product was an amalgamation of the unfinished ''Adelaide'', the never-performed ''L'ange de Nisida'', and new material worked into the score by Donizetti and into the libretto by Scribe.<ref name=Marston>Marston</ref> ''La favorite'' premiered on 2 December 1840.<ref name=Ashbrook154/>
The presence and influence of ''L'ange'' is evident in Donizetti's autograph score of ''La favorite'', which features "large chunks" of ''L'ange'' "cut up and interleaved" in which new character names and text for ''La favorite'' overwrite the old. The final page of ''L'ange'' was used as the final page of ''La favorite''; therefore, both operas bear the same finish date on the last page.<ref name=Ashbrook654>Ashbrook, p. 654</ref> Donizetti's contract for ''La favorite'' demanded a 1 December 1840 premiere, leaving him little time for dramatic changes.<ref name=Ashbrook153>Ashbrook, p. 153</ref> In his 1965 biography ''Donizetti'', Ashbrook surmises that this tight deadline gave rise to the legend that Donizetti actually composed the last act of ''La favorite'' in a single night.<ref name=Winton439>Winton (1965), p. 439</ref> In fact, the libretto of ''L'ange'' and the autograph score of ''La favorite'' make clear that the final act of ''La favorite'' was completed long before Donizetti began the rest of it in September—Donizetti lifted it from ''L'ange'' with the exception of two solo passages.<ref name=Ashbrook154>Ashbrook, p. 154</ref> He brought in librettist [[Eugène Scribe]] to oversee the new text, which also required the approval of starring mezzo-soprano Rosine Stoltz. The finished product was an amalgamation of the unfinished ''Adelaide'', the never-performed ''L'ange de Nisida'', and new material worked into the score by Donizetti and into the libretto by Scribe.{{sfn|Marston}} ''La favorite'' premiered on 2 December 1840.<ref name=Ashbrook154/>


Ashbrook has compared the surviving autograph scores of ''L'ange de Nisida'' and ''La favorite'' to determine precisely how much material ''L'ange'' provided for the latter. While the events in ''L'ange'' are set in 1470 in Nisida and Naples, ''La favorite'' is set in [[Santiago de Compostela]] and [[Castile (historical region)|Castile]], both in Spain, prior to 1350. Donizetti made fundamental changes to the first half of ''La favorite'' and little remains of ''L'ange''.<ref>Donizetti did take a line from the opening of ''L'ange'', "Douce ange, une fée inconnue," ("Sweet angel, a fairy unknown") and place it in the first scene of ''La favorite'' with different music but almost identical text. Ashbrook p. 654</ref> The central conflict of the story involving the marriage and subsequent death is essentially the same from one opera to the other, and some of the character names are also similar or identical.<ref name=Ashbrook154/>
Ashbrook has compared the surviving autograph scores of ''L'ange de Nisida'' and ''La favorite'' to determine precisely how much material ''L'ange'' provided for the latter. While the events in ''L'ange'' are set in 1470 in Nisida and Naples, ''La favorite'' is set in [[Santiago de Compostela]] and [[Castile (historical region)|Castile]], both in Spain, prior to 1350. Donizetti made fundamental changes to the first half of ''La favorite'' and little remains of ''L'ange''.<ref>Donizetti did take a line from the opening of ''L'ange'', "Douce ange, une fée inconnue," ("Sweet angel, a fairy unknown") and place it in the first scene of ''La favorite'' with different music but almost identical text. Ashbrook p. 654</ref> The central conflict of the story involving the marriage and subsequent death is essentially the same from one opera to the other, and some of the character names are also similar or identical.<ref name=Ashbrook154/>
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As the opera never got to the rehearsal stage, little is known about the intended cast. In a letter to his close friend Tommaso Persico, Donizetti expressed his desire to give the title role to Juliette Bourgeois, a temperamental soprano who requested a large sum of money to perform in France. (She was later to create the title role in Donizetti's ''[[La fille du régiment]]'')<ref name=Ashbrook151/>
As the opera never got to the rehearsal stage, little is known about the intended cast. In a letter to his close friend Tommaso Persico, Donizetti expressed his desire to give the title role to Juliette Bourgeois, a temperamental soprano who requested a large sum of money to perform in France. (She was later to create the title role in Donizetti's ''[[La fille du régiment]]'')<ref name=Ashbrook151/>
{| class="wikitable"
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Role<ref name=Ashbrook154/>
!Role<ref name=Ashbrook154/>
!Voice type<ref name=Ashbrook154/>
!Voice type<ref name=Ashbrook154/>
Line 68: Line 69:


== References ==
== References ==
;Notes
'''Notes'''
{{refs|30em}}
{{reflist|colwidth=33em}}
;Cited sources
'''Cited sources'''
* {{cite book |last=Ashbrook |first=William |title=Donizetti and His Operas |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1983 |isbn=0-521-27663-2}}
* {{cite book | last = Ashbrook | first = William | title = Donizetti and His Operas | publisher = Cambridge University Press | year = 1983 | isbn = 978-0-521-27663-4 | ref = harv }}
* {{cite journal |last=Crutchfield |first=Will |title=A Donizetti Discovery |journal=The Musical Times |volume=125 |issue=1699 |month=September |year=1984 |pages=487–490}}
* {{cite journal | last = Crutchfield | first = Will | title = A Donizetti Discovery | journal = The Musical Times | volume = 125 | issue = 1699 | month = September | year = 1984 | pages = 487–490 | doi = 10.2307/962806 | ref = harv }}
* {{cite journal |last1=Desniou |first1=William |last2=Lo Presti |first2=Fulvio Stefano |title=Trascrizione del libretto |journal=The Donizetti Society Journal |issue=7 |language=Italian |url=http://www.donizetti.org/media/1/20070704-Coedizioni.pdf |pages=2 |year=2002}}
* {{cite journal | last1 = Desniou | first1 = William | last2 = Lo Presti | first2 = Fulvio Stefano | title = Trascrizione del libretto | journal = The Donizetti Society Journal | issue = 7 | language = Italian | url = http://www.donizetti.org/media/1/20070704-Coedizioni.pdf | pages = 2 | year = 2002 | ref = harv }}
* {{cite journal |last=Everist |first=Mark |title=Theatres of litigation: stage music at the Théâtre de la Renaissance, 1838-1840 |journal=Cambridge Opera Journal |volume=6 |issue=2 |month=July |year=2004 |pages=133–161}}
* {{cite journal | last = Everist | first = Mark | title = Theatres of litigation: stage music at the Théâtre de la Renaissance, 1838–1840 | journal = Cambridge Opera Journal | volume = 6 | issue = 2 | month = July | year = 2004 | pages = 133–161 | ref = harv }}
* {{cite book |editor1-last=Fauser |editor1-first=Annegret |editor2-last=Everist |editor2-first=Mark |title=Music, Theater, and Cultural Transfer: Paris, 1830-1914 |publisher=Chicago University Press |year=2009 |isbn=0-226-23926-8}}
* {{cite book | editor1-last = Fauser | editor1-first = Annegret | editor2-last = Everist | editor2-first = Mark | title = Music, Theater, and Cultural Transfer: Paris, 1830–1914 | publisher = Chicago University Press | year = 2009 | isbn = 978-0-226-23926-2 | ref = harv }}
* {{cite web |url=http://www.donizetti.org/biblioteca/index.php?-action=list&-table=documenti&-cursor=0&-skip=40&-limit=10&-mode=list&-sort=autore+asc,+scheda+asc |title=Fondazione Donizetti documenti |work=Fondazione Donizetti |language=Italian |accessdate=28 January 2010}}
* {{cite web | url = http://www.donizetti.org/biblioteca/index.php?-action=list&-table=documenti&-cursor=0&-skip=40&-limit=10&-mode=list&-sort=autore+asc,+scheda+asc | title = Fondazione Donizetti documenti | work = Fondazione Donizetti | language = Italian | accessdate = 28 January 2010 | ref = harv }}
* {{cite album-notes |last=Marston |first=Ward |title=La Favorite (Original 1912 French recording featuring Ketty Lapeyrette, Paris Opéra-Comique Chorus and Orchestra) |format=CD booklet |publisher=Marston |year=1998 |artist=Gaetano Donizetti}}
* {{cite album-notes | last = Marston | first = Ward | title = La Favorite (Original 1912 French recording featuring Ketty Lapeyrette, Paris Opéra-Comique Chorus and Orchestra) | format = CD booklet | publisher = Marston | year = 1998 | artist = Gaetano Donizetti | ref = {{sfnRef|Marston}} }}
* {{cite journal |last=Winton |first=Dean |title=Review: ''Donizetti'' by William Ashbrook |journal=The Musical Times |volume=106 |issue=1468 |month=June |year=1965 |pages=438–440}}
* {{cite journal | last = Winton | first = Dean | title = Review: ''Donizetti'' by William Ashbrook | journal = The Musical Times | volume = 106 | issue = 1468 | month = June | year = 1965 | pages = 438–440 | ref = harv }}
* {{cite journal |last=Winton |first=Dean |title=Review: ''La favorita'' by Donizetti; soloists; chorus and orchestra of the Teatro Comunale, Bologna; Bonynge |journal=The Musical Times |volume=120 |issue=1631 |month=January |year=1979 |pages=41}}
* {{cite journal | last = Winton | first = Dean | title = Review: ''La favorita'' by Donizetti; soloists; chorus and orchestra of the Teatro Comunale, Bologna; Bonynge | journal = The Musical Times | volume = 120 | issue = 1631 | month = January | year = 1979 | pages = 41 | ref = harv }}


;Other sources
'''Other sources'''
* {{cite journal |last=Ashbrook |first=William |title=''L'Ange de Nisida'' di Donizetti|journal=Rivista italiana della musicologia |issue=16/1 |language=Italian |year=1981}}
* {{cite journal | last = Ashbrook | first = William | title = ''L'Ange de Nisida'' di Donizetti | journal = Rivista italiana della musicologia | issue = 16/1 | language = Italian | year = 1981 | ref = harv }}
* {{cite journal |last=Desniou |first=William |title=Donizetti et ''L'Ange de Nisida'' |journal=The Donizetti Society Journal |issue=7 |language=French |year=2002}}
* {{cite journal | last = Desniou | first = William | title = Donizetti et ''L'Ange de Nisida'' | journal = The Donizetti Society Journal | issue = 7 | language = French | year = 2002 | ref = harv }}
* Harris-Warrick, Rebecca (1997). "''La favorite'': Introduzione storica" (in Italian). ''La favorite, Opéra en quatre actes''. [[Casa Ricordi|Ricordi]] .
* Harris-Warrick, Rebecca (1997). "''La favorite'': Introduzione storica" (in Italian). ''La favorite, Opéra en quatre actes''. [[Casa Ricordi | Ricordi]] .
* {{cite journal |last=Lo Presti |first=Fulvio Stefano |title=Sylvia prima di Léonor (con interferenze di un duca) |journal=The Donizetti Society Journal |issue=7 |language=Italian |year=2002}}
* {{cite journal | last = Lo Presti | first = Fulvio Stefano | title = Sylvia prima di Léonor (con interferenze di un duca) | journal = The Donizetti Society Journal | issue = 7 | language = Italian | year = 2002 | ref = harv }}


{{Portal bar|Italy|Opera}}
{{Portal bar|Italy|Opera}}

Revision as of 04:56, 18 March 2012

Template:Donizetti operas L'ange de Nisida (The Angel of Nisida) is an opera semiseria in four acts by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti, from a libretto by Alphonse Royer and Gustave Vaëz.

Parts of the libretto are considered analogous with the libretto for Giovanni Pacini's Adelaide e Comingio, and the final scene is based on the François-Thomas-Marie de Baculard d'Arnaud play Les Amants malheureux, ou le comte de Comminges. Donizetti worked on the opera in late 1839—its final page is dated 27 December 1839. Because the subject matter involved the mistress of a Neapolitan king, and may thus have caused difficulties with the Italian censors, Donizetti decided that the opera should be presented in France. The theater company Donizetti contracted went bankrupt; L'ange was never performed and was reworked as La favorite in September 1840.

Context

Background

L'ange de Nisida incorporated many of the manuscript pages from Adelaide, an unfinished score that Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti was probably working on in 1834, from a libretto of unknown origin. This libretto contained elements from the 1790 Parisian play Les Amants malheureux, ou le comte de Comminges by François-Thomas-Marie de Baculard d'Arnaud.[1] In his book Donizetti and his Operas, musicologist William Ashbrook states that the Adelaide libretto has similarities to that of the Giovanni Pacini opera Adelaide e Comingio, whose libretto was written by Gaetano Rossi. Donizetti is believed to have taken the manuscript for Adelaide to Paris in 1838. Because the subject matter of L'ange involved the mistress of a Neapolitan king, and may thus have caused difficulties with the Italian censors, Donizetti decided that the opera should be presented in France.[2] Additionally, in September 1839, the French press had announced La Fiancée du Tyrol, a translation of Donizetti's 1833 opera Il furioso all'isola di San Domingo.[3] In October 1839, he wrote to a friend in Naples: "La Fiancée du Tyrol will be Il furioso amplified, L'ange de Nisida will be new."[4] Donizetti began work on L'ange shortly thereafter;[1] La Fiancée du Tyrol never materialized.[3]

Composition

Donizetti completed L'ange de Nisida on 27 December 1839, the date on the final page of the autograph score.[5] He had been working on Le duc d'Albe, but postponed work on the half-completed score in favor of L'ange and La fille du régiment.[6]

Although Donizetti noted in correspondence to his close friend Tommaso Persico in Naples that L'ange was "an opera in three acts",[7] both the autograph score and Donizetti's contract with Anténor Joly, the owner of the theater company Donizetti contracted, make clear that L'ange had four acts. Regardless, Donizetti's letter has caused confusion among opera journalists and scholars. For example, The Musical Times journalist Dean Winton wrote of the Italian version of La favorite in 1979: "[I]t was expanded from an unperformed three-act French opera, L'ange de Nisida."[8] Ashbrook speculates that Donizetti may have considered the first two acts as one.[9]

Contract and cancellation

On 5 January 1840, Donizetti signed a rehearsal and performance contract with his librettists and Anténor Joly,[7] who was operating a company named Théâtre de la Renaissance and giving performances at the Salle Ventadour in Paris.[10] Théâtre de la Renaissance chose L'ange over Richard Wagner's Das Liebesverbot.[11] Joly's company had premiered the French version of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor the previous year, and L'ange was meant to be its successor.[12] The contract, which is on display at the Bibliothèque-Musée de l'Opéra National de Paris, stipulates that L'ange be performed uninterrupted twenty times unless three consecutive performances sold poorly, and that Joly could not premiere any other opera until the revenue from L'ange started to decline. The contract contains nothing about Donizetti's compensation; therefore, it is possible that another contract existed.[9] L'ange was set to begin rehearsal on 1 February 1840. Donizetti had two other operas in various stages of preparation at other theaters during this time: Les martyrs and La fille du régiment.[7]

Later in January, Joly terminated all opera productions of the Théâtre de la Renaissance company due to financial hardship, despite a reported 5,000-franc loan from Donizetti. Joly tried to keep the operation afloat by staging ballets, but it closed completely in May 1840.[7] He filed for bankruptcy and therefore avoided paying Donizetti the large fee owed for backing out of the production.[7] Writing for the Cambridge Opera Journal, Mark Everist referred to L'ange as one of "the most spectacular casualties of the collapse of music drama at the Théâtre de la Renaissance".[3]

Reworking

Donizetti managed to retrieve the score of L'ange de Nisida from Joly's company[12] and reworked it as La favorite (now more commonly known by its Italian title, La favorita) in September 1840 for a December premiere in Italy.[13] To circumvent the Italian censors Donizetti agreed to plot modifications; La favorite is about a medieval King of Castile.[12]

The cover of a souvenir libretto from the opera La favorita, featuring age-related spots and browning. The names of the composer and librettists, the title of the opera, and the price of the libretto (25 Chilean centavos).
A souvenir libretto from La favorita

The presence and influence of L'ange is evident in Donizetti's autograph score of La favorite, which features "large chunks" of L'ange "cut up and interleaved" in which new character names and text for La favorite overwrite the old. The final page of L'ange was used as the final page of La favorite; therefore, both operas bear the same finish date on the last page.[14] Donizetti's contract for La favorite demanded a 1 December 1840 premiere, leaving him little time for dramatic changes.[15] In his 1965 biography Donizetti, Ashbrook surmises that this tight deadline gave rise to the legend that Donizetti actually composed the last act of La favorite in a single night.[16] In fact, the libretto of L'ange and the autograph score of La favorite make clear that the final act of La favorite was completed long before Donizetti began the rest of it in September—Donizetti lifted it from L'ange with the exception of two solo passages.[17] He brought in librettist Eugène Scribe to oversee the new text, which also required the approval of starring mezzo-soprano Rosine Stoltz. The finished product was an amalgamation of the unfinished Adelaide, the never-performed L'ange de Nisida, and new material worked into the score by Donizetti and into the libretto by Scribe.[12] La favorite premiered on 2 December 1840.[17]

Ashbrook has compared the surviving autograph scores of L'ange de Nisida and La favorite to determine precisely how much material L'ange provided for the latter. While the events in L'ange are set in 1470 in Nisida and Naples, La favorite is set in Santiago de Compostela and Castile, both in Spain, prior to 1350. Donizetti made fundamental changes to the first half of La favorite and little remains of L'ange.[18] The central conflict of the story involving the marriage and subsequent death is essentially the same from one opera to the other, and some of the character names are also similar or identical.[17]

A transcription of the L'ange libretto is kept at the Fondazione Donizetti library in Bergamo,[19] and was printed in a 2002 issue of the Italian-language journal for The Donizetti Society.[20]

Roles

As the opera never got to the rehearsal stage, little is known about the intended cast. In a letter to his close friend Tommaso Persico, Donizetti expressed his desire to give the title role to Juliette Bourgeois, a temperamental soprano who requested a large sum of money to perform in France. (She was later to create the title role in Donizetti's La fille du régiment)[2]

Role[17] Voice type[17] Corresponding role in La favorite[17]
Don Fernand d'Aragon, King of Naples baritone Alphonse XI of Castile
Don Gaspar, chamberlain of the King basso buffo Don Gaspar
Countess Sylvia de Linares soprano Léonor
Leone de Casaldi, a soldier tenor Fernand, a novice
The Monk bass Balthasar

Synopsis

A small island with steep, low cliffs viewed from a distance. Much of the island is covered in greenery, and several multi-storey buildings of white, tan, or red are visible on the near side. Other islands are visible in the distant waters.
A view of Nisida

Leone de Casaldi is an exiled soldier who makes a forbidden journey to the island of Nisida, outside Naples, Italy, to see Sylvia, with whom he is infatuated. Leone knows she is a noble but little else. While on Nisida, Leone encounters Don Gaspar, Chamberlain to King Fernand of Naples. After hearing Leone's plight, Don Gaspar convinces him to travel to Naples to have his exile lifted. Leone and Sylvia meet in Naples, at which time Leone discovers that she is actually Sylvia de Linares, the King's mistress. She declares her love for Leone but implores him to abandon her and his plans in Naples. When he refuses, the King discovers him and orders Don Gaspar to arrest and imprison him.

The King expresses to Sylvia his desire that she wed him. However, agents of Rome have been plotting to banish the mistress from Naples. When the King, dismayed, offers to grant her any request, she asks that Leone be set free. A monk appears, brandishing the Papal bull and threatening to banish Sylvia if she remains a mistress to the King. The King plots with Don Gaspar to free Leone and wed him to Sylvia, although Leone would be sent away and Sylvia would remain the King's mistress. Leone and Sylvia marry, but when Leone discovers the plot, he breaks his sword in front of the King and leaves under the monk's escort.

Leone is preparing to take his vows as a monk when Sylvia appears, having followed him disguised as a novice. When she confronts Leone and asks for forgiveness, he realizes his feelings and attempts to flee with her. Sylvia, who has been near death, dies at Leone's feet despite his calls for help.[21]

Recordings

See La favorite for recordings based on much of the music from this opera.

References

Notes

  1. ^ a b Ashbrook, p. 578
  2. ^ a b Ashbrook, p. 151
  3. ^ a b c Everist, p. 158
  4. ^ Crutchfield, p. 487
  5. ^ Ashbrook, p. 144
  6. ^ Ashbrook, p. 434
  7. ^ a b c d e Ashbrook, p. 145
  8. ^ Winton (1979), p. 41
  9. ^ a b Ashbrook, p. 650
  10. ^ Ashbrook, p. 142
  11. ^ Fauser and Everist p.233
  12. ^ a b c d Marston.
  13. ^ Ashbrook, p. 569
  14. ^ Ashbrook, p. 654
  15. ^ Ashbrook, p. 153
  16. ^ Winton (1965), p. 439
  17. ^ a b c d e f Ashbrook, p. 154
  18. ^ Donizetti did take a line from the opening of L'ange, "Douce ange, une fée inconnue," ("Sweet angel, a fairy unknown") and place it in the first scene of La favorite with different music but almost identical text. Ashbrook p. 654
  19. ^ Fondazione Donizetti
  20. ^ Desniou and Lo Presti, p. 2
  21. ^ Ashbrook, pp. 569–570

Cited sources

  • Ashbrook, William (1983). Donizetti and His Operas. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-27663-4. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Crutchfield, Will (1984). "A Donizetti Discovery". The Musical Times. 125 (1699): 487–490. doi:10.2307/962806. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  • Desniou, William; Lo Presti, Fulvio Stefano (2002). "Trascrizione del libretto" (PDF). The Donizetti Society Journal (in Italian) (7): 2. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Everist, Mark (2004). "Theatres of litigation: stage music at the Théâtre de la Renaissance, 1838–1840". Cambridge Opera Journal. 6 (2): 133–161. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  • Fauser, Annegret; Everist, Mark, eds. (2009). Music, Theater, and Cultural Transfer: Paris, 1830–1914. Chicago University Press. ISBN 978-0-226-23926-2. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • "Fondazione Donizetti documenti". Fondazione Donizetti (in Italian). Retrieved 28 January 2010. {{cite web}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Marston, Ward (1998). La Favorite (Original 1912 French recording featuring Ketty Lapeyrette, Paris Opéra-Comique Chorus and Orchestra) (Media notes). Marston. {{cite AV media notes}}: |format= requires |url= (help); Unknown parameter |artist= ignored (|others= suggested) (help)
  • Winton, Dean (1965). "Review: Donizetti by William Ashbrook". The Musical Times. 106 (1468): 438–440. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  • Winton, Dean (1979). "Review: La favorita by Donizetti; soloists; chorus and orchestra of the Teatro Comunale, Bologna; Bonynge". The Musical Times. 120 (1631): 41. {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)

Other sources

  • Ashbrook, William (1981). "L'Ange de Nisida di Donizetti". Rivista italiana della musicologia (in Italian) (16/1). {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Desniou, William (2002). "Donizetti et L'Ange de Nisida". The Donizetti Society Journal (in French) (7). {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Harris-Warrick, Rebecca (1997). "La favorite: Introduzione storica" (in Italian). La favorite, Opéra en quatre actes. Ricordi .
  • Lo Presti, Fulvio Stefano (2002). "Sylvia prima di Léonor (con interferenze di un duca)". The Donizetti Society Journal (in Italian) (7). {{cite journal}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)