Marino Faliero 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 three 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...

. Giovanni Emanuele Bidéra 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

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...

, with revisions by Agostino Ruffini, after Casimir Delavigne

Casimir Delavigne

Jean-François Casimir Delavigne was a French poet and dramatist.-Biography:Delavigne was born at Le Havre, but was sent to Paris to be educated at the Lycée Napoleon. He read extensively...

's play. It is inspired by Lord Byron's drama Marino Faliero (1820) and based on the life of Marino Faliero

Marino Faliero

Marino Faliero was the fifty-fifth Doge of Venice, appointed on 11 September 1354. He was sometimes referred to simply as Marin Falier or Falieri.-Biography:...

 (c.1285-1355), the Venetian

Republic of Venice

The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...

 Doge

Doge of Venice

The Doge of Venice , often mistranslated Duke was the chief magistrate and leader of the Most Serene Republic of Venice for over a thousand years. Doges of Venice were elected for life by the city-state's aristocracy. Commonly the person selected as Doge was the shrewdest elder in the city...

.

Rossini

Gioacchino Rossini

Gioachino Antonio Rossini was an Italian composer who wrote 39 operas as well as sacred music, chamber music, songs, and some instrumental and piano pieces...

 had commissioned both Donizetti and Vincenzo Bellini

Vincenzo Bellini

Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini was an Italian opera composer. His greatest works are I Capuleti ed i Montecchi , La sonnambula , Norma , Beatrice di Tenda , and I puritani...

 to write operas for the Théâtre-Italien in Paris. Bellini's contribution was the hugely successful I puritani

I puritani

I puritani is an opera in three acts by Vincenzo Bellini. It was his last opera. Its libretto is by Count Carlo Pepoli, based on Têtes rondes et Cavaliers by Jacques-François Ancelot and Joseph Xavier Saintine, which is in turn based on Walter Scott's novel Old Mortality. It was first produced at...

. Donizetti's opera, which premiered on March 12, 1835 (a few months after I puritani) was not nearly as much of a success. Still Marino Faliero was presented in London that same year and at the Teatro Alfieri in Florence in 1836. It also marked Donizetti's first opera to have its premiere in Paris.

Roles

Role	Voice type	Premiere Cast, 12 March 1835 (Conductor: - )
Marin Faliero Marino Faliero Marino Faliero was the fifty-fifth Doge of Venice, appointed on 11 September 1354. He was sometimes referred to simply as Marin Falier or Falieri.-Biography:... , the Doge of Venice Doge of Venice The Doge of Venice , often mistranslated Duke was the chief magistrate and leader of the Most Serene Republic of Venice for over a thousand years. Doges of Venice were elected for life by the city-state's aristocracy. Commonly the person selected as Doge was the shrewdest elder in the city...	bass	Luigi Lablache Luigi Lablache Luigi Lablache was an Italian opera singer of French and Irish heritage. He was most noted for his comic performances, possessing a powerful and agile bass voice, a wide range, and adroit acting skills: Leporello in Don Giovanni was one of his signature roles.-Biography:Luigi Lablache was born in...
Israele Bertucci, chief of the Venetian Arsenal Venetian Arsenal The Venetian Arsenal was a complex of state-owned shipyards and armories clustered together in Venice in northern Italy. It was responsible for the bulk of Venice's naval power during the middle part of the second millennium AD...	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...	Antonio Tamburini Antonio Tamburini Antonio Tamburini was an Italian operatic baritone.Born in Faenza, then part of the Papal States, Tamburini studied the orchestral horn with his father and voice with Aldobrando Rossi, before making his debut as a singer, aged 18, in La contessa di colle erbose . He went on to become one of the...
Fernando, Faliero's friend and 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...	Giovanni Battista Rubini Giovanni Battista Rubini Giovanni Battista Rubini was an Italian tenor, as famous in his time as Enrico Caruso in a later day. His ringing and expressive coloratura dexterity in the highest register of his voice, the tenorino, inspired the writing of operatic roles which today are almost impossible to cast...
Steno, member of the Council of Forty	bass
Leoni, Member of the Council of Ten Council of Ten The Council of Ten, or simply the Ten, was, from 1310 to 1797, one of the major governing bodies of the Republic of Venice whose actions were often secretive. Although some sources may indicate that the Council of Ten was generally accepted in Venice, there was some opposition...	tenor
Elena, The Doge's wife	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...	Giulia Grisi Giulia Grisi Giulia Grisi, also known as Madame De Candia was an Italian opera singer...
Irene, Elena's servant	soprano
Vincenzo, the Doge's servant	tenor
Beltrame, a sculptor	bass
Pietro, a gondolier	bass	Nicolay Ivanov
Guido, a fisherman	bass
Gentlemen, knights, craftsmen, fishermen, servants, soldiers

Synopsis

Place: 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...

Time: 1355

Elena, the wife of Marin Faliero

Marino Faliero

Marino Faliero was the fifty-fifth Doge of Venice, appointed on 11 September 1354. He was sometimes referred to simply as Marin Falier or Falieri.-Biography:...

, Doge of Venice

Doge of Venice

The Doge of Venice , often mistranslated Duke was the chief magistrate and leader of the Most Serene Republic of Venice for over a thousand years. Doges of Venice were elected for life by the city-state's aristocracy. Commonly the person selected as Doge was the shrewdest elder in the city...

, is continually subjected to attacks on her reputation by the patrician Steno whose advances she has rejected. Steno then insults Israele Bertucci, the chief of the Venetian Arsenal

Venetian Arsenal

The Venetian Arsenal was a complex of state-owned shipyards and armories clustered together in Venice in northern Italy. It was responsible for the bulk of Venice's naval power during the middle part of the second millennium AD...

 in front of his workers. Steno is punished for these offenses, but Faliero is infuriated by the leniency of the punishment. Israele convinces Faliero to join a conspiracy against the Council of Forty, of which Steno is a member.

Meanwhile, Elena is in love with Faliero's friend Fernando, who wants to leave the city to save her from dishonour. During a masked ball, Fernando challenges Steno to a duel for having insulted Elena once again. When Fernando is found dying in the place where the conspirators were to meet, Faliero vows to avenge his death.

The conspiracy collapses following a betrayal by one of its members and the Doge is condemned to death. Before his execution, Elena confesses her love affair with Fernando to him. Faliero begins to curse her, but sensing that his death is imminent, pardons her instead. Faliero is led off. Alone on the stage, Elena hears the sound of the executioner's axe, screams and faints.

Recordings

Year	Cast: Marino Faliero, Israele Bertucci, Fernando, Elena	Conductor, Opera House and Orchestra	Label
1976	Cesare Siepi Cesare Siepi Cesare Siepi was an Italian opera singer, generally considered to have been one of the finest basses of the post-war period. His voice was characterised by a deep, warm timbre, and a ringing, vibrant upper register. On stage, his tall, striking presence and elegance of phrasing made him a natural... , Licinio Montefusco, Giuliano Ciannella, Marisa Galvany	Elio Boncompagni, RAI Milan Symphony Orchestra	Audio CD: Bongiovanni Cat: 2408/9-2; Myto Records Cat: MCD 054.314
2002	Michele Pertusi, Roberto Servile, Rockwell Blake Rockwell Blake Rockwell Blake is an American operatic tenor, particularly known for his roles in Rossini operas. He was the first winner of the Richard Tucker Award.-Biography:... , Maria Devia	Ottavio Dantone, Orchestra and Chorus of Teatro Regio Parma (Recording of a performance in Parma, 2 January)	Audio CD: House of Opera Cat: CD 820