Gemma de Vergy is a tragedia lirica or tragic 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...

 (1834) from a libretto

Libretto

A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...

 by Emanuele Bidéra. It is based on the tragedy Charles VII chez ses grands vassaux (Charles VII at the homes of his great vassals) (1831) by Alexandre Dumas père

Alexandre Dumas, père

Alexandre Dumas, , born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie was a French writer, best known for his historical novels of high adventure which have made him one of the most widely read French authors in the world...

, which was later to become the subject of the opera The Saracen

The Saracen (opera)

The Saracen , is an opera by César Cui composed during 1896-1898. The libretto was written by Vladimir Vasilievich Stasov and the composer, based on a play by Alexandre Dumas entitled Charles VII chez ses grands vassaux...

by the Russian composer César Cui

César Cui

César Antonovich Cui was a Russian of French and Lithuanian descent. His profession was as an army officer and a teacher of fortifications; his avocational life has particular significance in the history of music, in that he was a composer and music critic; in this sideline he is known as a...

. The heroine is the childless wife of the Count of Vergny, and the plot deals with her jealousy and grief as her husband arranges an annulment of their marriage in preparation for the arrival of his new bride, Ida, and her despair following the murder of her husband by a slave, Tamas, who is secretly in love with her.

Gemma di Vergy was first performed on 26 December 1834 at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan. The leading role was taken by the Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 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, Donizetti's favourite prima donna at the time, for whom he had previously composed Fausta (1832 ), and for whom he was later to compose Roberto Devereux

Roberto Devereux

Roberto Devereux is a tragedia lirica, or tragic opera, by Gaetano Donizetti...

(1837). The opera remained very popular in Italy until at least the 1860s, and productions were also staged 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...

, Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, Lisbon

Lisbon

Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...

, St. Petersburg, Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

 and Barcelona

Barcelona

Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...

. It was last staged in Empoli

Empoli

Empoli is a town and comune in Tuscany, Italy, about 20 km southwest of Florence, to the south of the Arno in a plain formed by the latter river. The plain has been usable for agriculture since Roman times. The commune's territory becomes a hilly one as it departs from the river...

 in 1901 and then disappeared from the repertoire.

Gemma de Vergy was revived for the soprano Montserrat Caballé

Montserrat Caballé

Montserrat Caballé is a Spanish operatic soprano. Although she sang a wide variety of roles, she is best known as an exponent of the bel canto repertoire, notably the works of Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti and Verdi....

 in a production 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...

 in December 1975. A number of live recordings exist of the Caballé performances from Naples, Paris and New York.

Roles

Role	Voice type	Premiere Cast, 26 December 1834 (Conductor: - Eugenio Cavallini Eugenio Cavallini Eugenio Cavallini was an Italian conductor, composer, violinist, and violist. In 1833 he became first violinist of the orchestra at La Scala, a post he held through 1855... )
Earl of Vergy	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...	Giovanni Orazio Cartagenova
Gemma	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....
Ida di Greville	mezzo-soprano Mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above...	Felicita Baillou-Hillaret
Tamas	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...	Domenico Reina Domenico Reina Domenico Reina was a Swiss bel canto tenor, notable for creating roles in the operas of Vincenzo Bellini, Gaetano Donizetti, Saverio Mercadante and other Italian composers....
Guido	bass	Ignazio Marini Ignazio Marini Ignazio Marini was a celebrated Italian operatic bass. He sang in the world premieres of several operas by Gaetano Donizetti, Saverio Mercadante, and Giuseppe Verdi and appeared as a guest artist in major opera houses throughout Europe and in New York City and Cairo.-Biography:Ignazio Marini was...
Rolando	bass	Domenico Spiaggi
Knights, archers, soldiers, bridesmaids

Recordings

Year	Cast (Gemma, Ida, Tamas, Conte di Vergy)	Conductor, Opera House and Orchestra	Label
1975	Montserrat Caballé Montserrat Caballé Montserrat Caballé is a Spanish operatic soprano. Although she sang a wide variety of roles, she is best known as an exponent of the bel canto repertoire, notably the works of Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti and Verdi.... , Biancamaria Casoni, Giorgio Lamberti, Renato Bruson Renato Bruson Renato Bruson is an Italian operatic baritone. Bruson is widely considered one of the most important Verdi baritones of the late 20th and early 21st century. He was born in Granze near Padua, Italy.-Biography and career:...	Armando Gatto Teatro San Carlo, Naples Orchestra and Chorus	Audio CD: Opera d'Oro Cat: OPD 1379
1987	Adriana Maliponte, Nucci Condò, Ottavio Garaventa, Luigi De Corato	Gert Meditz RAI Milano Orchestra and Chorus (Video recording of a performance in the Civico Teatro Gaetano Donizetti, Bergamo, 7 October)	DVD: House of Opera Cat: DVDCC 601