Elena da Feltre
Encyclopedia
Elena da Feltre is an opera
in three acts by 19th century Italian composer Saverio Mercadante
from a libretto by Salvatore Cammarano
, well-known as librettist of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor
and Verdi's Il trovatore
. The premiere took place at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples
on 1 January 1839 as part of the Carnival Season. While not successful at the time, the opera was revived at La Scala
in 1843 with twenty performances.
:
Elena seems to match up with the new concepts: greater involvement of the orchestra; fewer vocal "fireworks"; a more simple vocal line but more adventuresome harmonies and drama when compared to Il giuramento.
"Mercadante wanted to break free from any formulas developed by earlier composers, especially those of Rossini......The romantic hero is given to the bass-baritone voice, and the villain was played by the famous French tenor Nourrit
. The story is tragic and violent, filled with romantic intrigues and twisted passions. The part of Elena is one of Mercadante's outstanding soprano vocal roles. Her opening romanza is one of the opera's finest highlights, although he later replaced it with an equally brilliant florid cavatina. The finale to the third act is another extremely strong number. The skillfully wrought ensemble reflects the dramatic tension of the script, as the denouement comes to its tragic conclusion."
In a 20th Century examination of Mercadante's operas, a critical comment ran:
in London
in January 1842 and in Dublin that July.
But, like most of Mercadante's operas, Elena da Feltre had disappeared from the repertory by the late 19th century. It was not until the mid-1900s that his operas began to see the light of day, and the revival of Elena did not take place until the October 1997 performances at the Wexford Festival in Ireland
.
In 1999, with almost the same cast as had appeared at Wexford (including Monica Colonna in the title role), the opera was presented at the Teatro Rossini in Lugo, Italy, as part of the Lugo Opera Festival which has been held since the mid-1980s.
Ubaldo's entourage cannot understand why he is so melancholy. They leave when his friend Guido enters. Guido asks Ubaldo to help him: Boemondo (Ezzelino's henchman) wishes him to marry his daughter Imberga, but his heart belongs to another. Ubaldo points out that, if Guido defies Boemondo, his chances of regaining the position once held by his ancestors will be ruined. Guido, nevertheless, is prepared to renounce everything for love. He reveals that his lover is Elena, daughter of the outlawed Sigifredo, and that he plans to secretly leave the town with her. Ubaldo is aghast, as he realises why Elena has rejected his own declaration of love, but he conceals his agitation and agrees to help Guido, notwithstanding the likely rage of Ezzelino. Left alone, Ubaldo first considers betraying Guido to Ezzelino, but then resolves to abduct Elena instead.
Scene 2: Sigifredo's palace
Elena is overjoyed to hear that her father has escaped to nearby Belluno
and excited at the prospect of marriage with Guido. Her servant Gualtiero tells her that a pilgrim who is approaching the palace is her father in disguise. Sigifredo and Elena embrace, and he tells her that Belluno has fallen to Ezzelino but that he has escaped so that he can die in his home town. He hides as Ubaldo enters to tell Elena that he and his men are about to carry her off. Sigifredo emerges to protect Elena, but Ubaldo's followers appear and drag Sigifredo away to prison. Ubaldo reluctantly goes with them, and Elena, left behind, falls into a faint.
Boemondo tells Ubaldo that Sigifredo is now held in a secret location. Elena arrives. Boesmondo says that Ubaldo will explain what she must do to save her father's life, and leaves. Ubaldo informs Elena that, if Sigismondo is not to be executed, Guido must marry Imberga, and she (Elena) must marry him. Ubaldo tells her that he loves her, but, when she repulses him, he reveals that a scaffold for her father's death is being built and that Sigismondo will die very soon if she does not consent to the marriage. She gives in, and they leave together.
Guido is brought in under guard and left alone. His sense of foreboding is confirmed when Boemondo tells him that Elena has betrayed him, and that this will be confirmed before long. Guido is distraught and longs for death.
Boemondo's adherents arrive to celebrate the fall of Belluno to Ezzelino. Boemondo announces that he will show mercy to his enemy Sigismondo's daughter if she will name someone as her protector. Guido and Ubaldo await her decision with trepidation. Provoked by Boemondo, she reluctantly names Ubaldo. The Act ends with Guido accusing her of treachery and asking Imberga to marry him, Ubaldo expressing his love for Elena, Boemondo and Imberga gloating, and Elena lamenting her fate.
Elena prays to her dead mother to allow her to die. Guido confronts her, but he is still not entirely convinced that she acted out of free will. Elena is about to explain everything when the bell for the execution of Sigismondo rings, and she re-asserts that she loves Ubaldo. Furious, Guido leaves as Elena again prays for death.
Scene 2: Ubaldo's house
Ubaldo has returned empty-handed from his mission to release Sigismondo from prison. He is upset that Boemondo has double-crossed Elena: Sigismondo had already been executed. He knows that he has lost Elena for ever, and he and his followers swear to abandon Boemondo and return to the Guelph cause.
Scene 3: Sigifredo's palace
Elena waits with Gualtiero for the overdue arrival of Ubaldo and Sigismondo. She sends Gualtiero to find out what has happened. The wedding procession for Guido and Imberga can be heard offstage, and Elena prays for Guido's happiness and her own death. Ubaldo and his men arrive as the offstage music becomes more joyous, and then Gualtiero returns with the news of Sigismondo's death. Elena has a vision of Sigismondo waiting for her in heaven and dies. Ubaldo laments her loss, and the chorus comment that an angel missing from heaven has now returned there.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
in three acts by 19th century Italian composer Saverio Mercadante
Saverio Mercadante
Giuseppe Saverio Raffaele Mercadante was an Italian composer, particularly of operas. While Mercadante may not have retained the international celebrity of Gaetano Donizetti or Gioachino Rossini beyond his own lifetime, he composed as impressive a number of works as either; and his development of...
from a libretto by Salvatore Cammarano
Salvatore Cammarano
Salvadore Cammarano was a prolific Italian librettist and playwright perhaps best known for writing the text of Lucia di Lammermoor for Gaetano Donizetti....
, well-known as librettist of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor
Lucia di Lammermoor
Lucia di Lammermoor is a dramma tragico in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's historical novel The Bride of Lammermoor....
and Verdi's Il trovatore
Il trovatore
Il trovatore is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Salvadore Cammarano, based on the play El Trovador by Antonio García Gutiérrez. Cammarano died in mid-1852 before completing the libretto...
. The premiere took place at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
on 1 January 1839 as part of the Carnival Season. While not successful at the time, the opera was revived at La Scala
La Scala
La Scala , is a world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as the New Royal-Ducal Theatre at La Scala...
in 1843 with twenty performances.
Mercadante's "revolution"
When composing Elena da Feltre in 1838, Mercadante wrote to Francesco Florimo laying out his ideas about how opera should be structured, following the "revolution" begun in his previous opera, Il giuramentoIl giuramento
Il giuramento is an opera in three acts by the Italian composer Saverio Mercadante. The libretto, by Gaetano Rossi, is based on Victor Hugo's play Angélo, tyran de Padoue...
:
- "I have continued the revolution I began in Il giuramento: varied forms, cabalettas banished, crescendos out, vocal lines simplified, fewer repeats, more originality in the cadences, proper regard paid to the drama, orchestration rich but not so as to swamp the voices, no long solos in the ensembles (they only force the other parts to stand idle to the detriment of the action), not much bass drum, and a lot less brass band"
Elena seems to match up with the new concepts: greater involvement of the orchestra; fewer vocal "fireworks"; a more simple vocal line but more adventuresome harmonies and drama when compared to Il giuramento.
"Mercadante wanted to break free from any formulas developed by earlier composers, especially those of Rossini......The romantic hero is given to the bass-baritone voice, and the villain was played by the famous French tenor Nourrit
Adolphe Nourrit
Adolphe Nourrit was a French operatic tenor, librettist, and composer. One of the most esteemed opera singers of the 1820s and 1830s, he was particularly associated with the works of Gioachino Rossini....
. The story is tragic and violent, filled with romantic intrigues and twisted passions. The part of Elena is one of Mercadante's outstanding soprano vocal roles. Her opening romanza is one of the opera's finest highlights, although he later replaced it with an equally brilliant florid cavatina. The finale to the third act is another extremely strong number. The skillfully wrought ensemble reflects the dramatic tension of the script, as the denouement comes to its tragic conclusion."
In a 20th Century examination of Mercadante's operas, a critical comment ran:
- A work of harmonic daring, subtlety and originally orchestrated, it suddenly makes sense of oft-quoted comparisons between Mercadante and Verdi. It has the overall coherence one looks for and finds in middle and late Verdi - a surprising anticipation, for Elena da Feltre dates from 1838, the year before Verdi's first opera.
Performance history
Although not successful in its initial performance in Naples, "it achieved a considerable success in the rest of Italy and Europe where it was performed in several places between 1839 and 1860 with twenty performances at La Scala in the 1843 autumn season". It was performed at Covent GardenCovent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in January 1842 and in Dublin that July.
But, like most of Mercadante's operas, Elena da Feltre had disappeared from the repertory by the late 19th century. It was not until the mid-1900s that his operas began to see the light of day, and the revival of Elena did not take place until the October 1997 performances at the Wexford Festival in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
.
In 1999, with almost the same cast as had appeared at Wexford (including Monica Colonna in the title role), the opera was presented at the Teatro Rossini in Lugo, Italy, as part of the Lugo Opera Festival which has been held since the mid-1980s.
Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast (Conductor: Nicola Festa) |
|---|---|---|
| Elena | soprano Soprano A soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody... |
Giuseppina Ronzi de Begnis Giuseppina Ronzi de Begnis Giuseppina Ronzi de Begnis was an Italian operatic soprano, one of the leading sopranos of her time, particularly associated with Donizetti roles.... |
| Imberga, Boemondo's daughter | soprano | Emilia Gandaglia |
| Ubaldo, Guido's friend; in love with Elena | tenor Tenor The tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2... |
Adolphe Nourrit Adolphe Nourrit Adolphe Nourrit was a French operatic tenor, librettist, and composer. One of the most esteemed opera singers of the 1820s and 1830s, he was particularly associated with the works of Gioachino Rossini.... |
| Boemondo, Minister of ruler Ezzelino | tenor | Anafesto Rossi |
| Guido, also in love with Elena | baritone Baritone Baritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or... |
Paul Barroilhet Paul Barroilhet Paul-Bernard Barroilhet was a French operatic baritone.-Career:Barroilhet studied at the Conservatoire de Paris and then with Davide Banderali in Milan... |
| Sigifredo, Elena's father; a fugitive | bass | Pietro Gianni |
| Gualtiero, Sigifredo's servant | bass Bass (voice type) A bass is a type of male singing voice and possesses the lowest vocal range of all voice types. According to The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, a bass is typically classified as having a range extending from around the second E below middle C to the E above middle C... |
Michele Benedetti Michele Benedetti Michele Benedetti was an Italian bass particularly associated with Rossini roles.-Career:... |
| Knights, Ladies, Soldiers | ||
Synopsis
- Time: 1250, during the war between the Guelphs and GhibellinesGuelphs and GhibellinesThe Guelphs and Ghibellines were factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively, in central and northern Italy. During the 12th and 13th centuries, the split between these two parties was a particularly important aspect of the internal policy of the Italian city-states...
- Place: FeltreFeltreFeltre is a town and comune of the province of Belluno in Veneto, northern Italy. A hill town in the southern reaches of the province, it is located on the Stizzon River, about 4 km from its junction with the Piave, and 20 km southwest from Belluno...
, Northern Italy, a Guelph town occupied by the Ghibellines under Ezzelino III da RomanoEzzelino III da RomanoEzzelino III da Romano was an Italian feudal lord in the March of Treviso who was a close ally of the emperor Frederick II and ruled Verona, Vicenza and Padua for almost two decades...
Act 1
Scene 1: Ubaldo's houseUbaldo's entourage cannot understand why he is so melancholy. They leave when his friend Guido enters. Guido asks Ubaldo to help him: Boemondo (Ezzelino's henchman) wishes him to marry his daughter Imberga, but his heart belongs to another. Ubaldo points out that, if Guido defies Boemondo, his chances of regaining the position once held by his ancestors will be ruined. Guido, nevertheless, is prepared to renounce everything for love. He reveals that his lover is Elena, daughter of the outlawed Sigifredo, and that he plans to secretly leave the town with her. Ubaldo is aghast, as he realises why Elena has rejected his own declaration of love, but he conceals his agitation and agrees to help Guido, notwithstanding the likely rage of Ezzelino. Left alone, Ubaldo first considers betraying Guido to Ezzelino, but then resolves to abduct Elena instead.
Scene 2: Sigifredo's palace
Elena is overjoyed to hear that her father has escaped to nearby Belluno
Belluno
Belluno , is a town and province in the Veneto region of northern Italy. Located about 100 kilometres north of Venice, Belluno is the capital of the province of Belluno and the most important city in the Eastern Dolomiti's region. With its roughly 37,000 inhabitants, it the largest populated area...
and excited at the prospect of marriage with Guido. Her servant Gualtiero tells her that a pilgrim who is approaching the palace is her father in disguise. Sigifredo and Elena embrace, and he tells her that Belluno has fallen to Ezzelino but that he has escaped so that he can die in his home town. He hides as Ubaldo enters to tell Elena that he and his men are about to carry her off. Sigifredo emerges to protect Elena, but Ubaldo's followers appear and drag Sigifredo away to prison. Ubaldo reluctantly goes with them, and Elena, left behind, falls into a faint.
Act 2
The town hallBoemondo tells Ubaldo that Sigifredo is now held in a secret location. Elena arrives. Boesmondo says that Ubaldo will explain what she must do to save her father's life, and leaves. Ubaldo informs Elena that, if Sigismondo is not to be executed, Guido must marry Imberga, and she (Elena) must marry him. Ubaldo tells her that he loves her, but, when she repulses him, he reveals that a scaffold for her father's death is being built and that Sigismondo will die very soon if she does not consent to the marriage. She gives in, and they leave together.
Guido is brought in under guard and left alone. His sense of foreboding is confirmed when Boemondo tells him that Elena has betrayed him, and that this will be confirmed before long. Guido is distraught and longs for death.
Boemondo's adherents arrive to celebrate the fall of Belluno to Ezzelino. Boemondo announces that he will show mercy to his enemy Sigismondo's daughter if she will name someone as her protector. Guido and Ubaldo await her decision with trepidation. Provoked by Boemondo, she reluctantly names Ubaldo. The Act ends with Guido accusing her of treachery and asking Imberga to marry him, Ubaldo expressing his love for Elena, Boemondo and Imberga gloating, and Elena lamenting her fate.
Act 3
Scene 1: Sigifredo's palaceElena prays to her dead mother to allow her to die. Guido confronts her, but he is still not entirely convinced that she acted out of free will. Elena is about to explain everything when the bell for the execution of Sigismondo rings, and she re-asserts that she loves Ubaldo. Furious, Guido leaves as Elena again prays for death.
Scene 2: Ubaldo's house
Ubaldo has returned empty-handed from his mission to release Sigismondo from prison. He is upset that Boemondo has double-crossed Elena: Sigismondo had already been executed. He knows that he has lost Elena for ever, and he and his followers swear to abandon Boemondo and return to the Guelph cause.
Scene 3: Sigifredo's palace
Elena waits with Gualtiero for the overdue arrival of Ubaldo and Sigismondo. She sends Gualtiero to find out what has happened. The wedding procession for Guido and Imberga can be heard offstage, and Elena prays for Guido's happiness and her own death. Ubaldo and his men arrive as the offstage music becomes more joyous, and then Gualtiero returns with the news of Sigismondo's death. Elena has a vision of Sigismondo waiting for her in heaven and dies. Ubaldo laments her loss, and the chorus comment that an angel missing from heaven has now returned there.
Recordings
| Year | Cast (Elena, Imberga, Ubaldo, Boemondo) |
Conductor, Opera House and Orchestra |
Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970? | Orianna Santunione, Licia Falcone, Angelo Mori, Vito Tatone |
Armando Gatto Orchestra Scarlatti di Napoli Chorus and the RAI Napoli Chorus |
Audio CD: Voce Cat: 121 |
| 1997 | Monica Colonna, Elena Rossi, Cesare Catani, Luigi Petroni |
Maurizio Benini, National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland and Wexford Festival Opera Chorus (Recorded at performances at the Wexford Festival, October) |
Audio CD: Marco Polo Cat: 8.225064-65 |
External links
- Website of The Donizetti Society, UK Retrieved 3 March 2010