Enrico di Borgogna
Encyclopedia
Enrico di Borgogna is an opera eroica or "heroic" opera
in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti
. Bartolomeo Merelli (who was later, as Intendant at La Scala
, was to commission Verdi's first opera), wrote the Italian
libretto based on Der Graf von Burgund by August von Kotzebue
.
Enrico di Borgogna was the third opera composed by Donizetti, but the first to be performed. It premiered on 14 November 1818 at the Teatro San Luca in Venice
. In spite of difficulties at the premiere, the critic of Nuovo osservatore veneziano noted of Donizetti that "one cannot but recognize a regular handling and expressive quality in his style. For these, the public wanted to salute Signor Donizetti on stage at the end of the opera".
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 two acts by Gaetano Donizetti
Gaetano Donizetti
Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti was an Italian composer from Bergamo, Lombardy. His best-known works are the operas L'elisir d'amore , Lucia di Lammermoor , and Don Pasquale , all in Italian, and the French operas La favorite and La fille du régiment...
. Bartolomeo Merelli (who was later, as Intendant 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...
, was to commission Verdi's first opera), wrote the Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
libretto based on Der Graf von Burgund by August von Kotzebue
August von Kotzebue
August Friedrich Ferdinand von Kotzebue was a German dramatist.One of Kotzebue's books was burned during the Wartburg festival in 1817. He was murdered in 1819 by Karl Ludwig Sand, a militant member of the Burschenschaften...
.
Enrico di Borgogna was the third opera composed by Donizetti, but the first to be performed. It premiered on 14 November 1818 at the Teatro San Luca in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
. In spite of difficulties at the premiere, the critic of Nuovo osservatore veneziano noted of Donizetti that "one cannot but recognize a regular handling and expressive quality in his style. For these, the public wanted to salute Signor Donizetti on stage at the end of the opera".
Roles and role creators
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, 14 November 1818 (Conductor:) |
|---|---|---|
| Brunone | 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... |
Giuseppe Fioravanti Giuseppe Fioravanti Giuseppe Fioravanti was an Italian opera singer active during the first half of the 19th century. Although one of the most important and popular basso buffos of his generation, there is only a relatively small amount of information available about his life... |
| Elisa | mezzo-soprano | Adelina Catalani |
| Enrico | contralto | Fanny Eckerlin |
| Geltrude | soprano | Adelaide Cassago |
| Gilberto | bass | Andrea Verni |
| Nicola | bass | Pietro Verducci |
| Pietro | tenor | Giuseppe Fusconi |
Recordings
- A Hundred Years of Italian Opera contains Enrico's Act I: Recitative and Cavatina, Elisa! Elisa! Oh! me infelice Care aurette che spiegate, sung by Della JonesDella JonesDella Jones , is a Welsh mezzo-soprano, particularly well-known for her interpretations of works by Handel, Mozart, Rossini, Donizetti, and Britten.-Life and career:Della Jones was born in Tonna, near Neath, Wales...
. Opera RaraOpera RaraOpera Rara is a British record label, founded in the early 1970s by Americans Patric Schmid and Don White to promote concerts of rare and/or forgotten operas by Giacomo Meyerbeer and Donizetti and such other "bel canto" composers as Giovanni Pacini, Saverio Mercadante, and Federico Ricci.The...
ORCH103; also in The Young Donizetti Opera RaraOpera RaraOpera Rara is a British record label, founded in the early 1970s by Americans Patric Schmid and Don White to promote concerts of rare and/or forgotten operas by Giacomo Meyerbeer and Donizetti and such other "bel canto" composers as Giovanni Pacini, Saverio Mercadante, and Federico Ricci.The...
ORR 229