Maria di Rohan
Maria di Rohan is a melodramma tragico, or tragic opera, in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The Italian libretto was written by Salvadore Cammarano, after Lockroy and Edmond Badon's Un duel sous le cardinal de Richelieu, which had played in Paris in 1832.
Contents |
[edit] Performance history
It premiered at the Kärntnertortheater, Vienna on June 5, 1843.
[edit] Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, 5 June 1843 (Conductor: - ) |
Revised version, Paris, 14 November, 1843 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maria, countess of Rohan | soprano | Eugenia Tadolini | Giulia Grisi |
| Riccardo, count of Chalais | tenor | Carlo Guasco | Lorenzo Salvi |
| Enrico, duke of Chevreuse | baritone | Giorgio Ronconi | Giorgio Ronconi |
| Armando di Gondì | tenor (then contralto) | Michele Novaro | Marietta Brambilla |
| The visconte of Suze | bass | Friedrich Becher | Giovanni Rizzi |
| de Fiesque | bass | Gustav Hölzel | |
| Aubry, secretary of Chalais | tenor | Anton Müller | Nicola Ivanoff |
| A familiar of Chevreuse | bass | ||
| Knights, the king's cabinet, pages, guards and domestic servants of Chevreuse | |||
[edit] Synopsis
- Time: Early 17th century
- Place: Paris
The comte de Chalais, lover of Marie de Rohan, intercedes with the king, Louis XIII, to save the life of the duc de Chevreuse, condemned to death for having killed in a duel a nephew of Cardinal Richelieu. But Chalais discovers that Marie has secretly married the duke, when he takes part in a duel with Armand de Gondi. And Chevreuse, deciding to replace his benefactor in the duel, discovers that his friend has been the lover of his wife.
[edit] Recordings
| Year | Cast (Maria, Riccardo Enrico Armando di Gondi) |
Conductor, Opera House and Orchestra |
Label[1] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Renata Scotto, Umberto Grilli, Renato Bruson, Elean Zilio |
Gianandrea Gavazzeni, Orchestra & Chorus of Teatro La Fenice, Venice (Recorded at a live performance, Venice, March 26, 1974 |
Audio CD: Opera D'Oro Cat: OPD 1412 |
| 1996 | Edita Gruberova, Octavio Arévalo, Ettore Kim, Ulrika Precht |
Elio Boncompagni, Radio Symphonieorchester Wien and Wiener Konzertchor (Recorded at performances in the Konzerthaus, Vienna, 6 & 12 December |
Audio CD: Nightingale Cat: NC 070567-2 |
[edit] References
- Notes
- ^ Source for recording information: operadis-opera-discography.org.uk
- Sources
- Ashbrook, William, Donizetti and His Operas, Cambridge University Press, 1982, ISBN 052123526X ISBN 0-521-23526-X
- Holden, Amanda (Ed.), The New Penguin Opera Guide, New York: Penguin Putnam, 2001. ISBN 0-140-29312-4
- Osborne, Charles, The Bel Canto Operas of Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini, Portland, Oregon: Amadeus Press, 1994 ISBN 0931340713
- Warrack, John and West, Ewan (1992), The Oxford Dictionary of Opera, 782 pages, ISBN 0-19-869164-5
- Weinstock, Herbert, Donizetti and the World of Opera in Italy, Paris, and Vienna in the First Half of the Nineteenth Century, New York: Pantheon Books, 1963. ISBN 63-13703
