The Place

Naples was the capital of the Bourbon monarchy of the Kingdom of Naples. Spain had conquered
Naples in 16th century and from 1738 it was ruled by a cadet branch of the Spanish Bourbon Royal
family. King Ferdinand IV ruled from 1759 to 1825. with the odd gap for revolutions.
His first wife was Queen Caroline, Marie Antoinette's sister.
He was robust, amiable and rather uncouth, but a generous supporter of the opera.
Naples was captured by Napoleon in 1808, King Ferdinand was restored in 1815
When Rossini arrived in 1815, there was a distinct undercurrent of political unrest.
The main Royal theatre was Teatro di San Carlo built in 1737 to replace a smaller more dilapidated
theatre. One of the most handsome and lavishly equipped theatres in Europe with boxes like
miniature drawing rooms. It burned in 1816, rebuilt within 10 months.
Naples was an important centre of European music in the 18th century, with influential
conservatoires. Native composers included Porpora, Traetta, Piccini, Vinci, Anfossi, Jomelli,
Cimarosa and Paisiello. Important foreign composers who had works performed included Hasse,
Haydn, JC Bach and Gluck. A prominent school of singers including some significant castrati,
Caffarelli and Farinelli as well as Velluti, the last operatic castrato.
There was an orchestra of 80 players under the leader of the distinguished violinist Giuseppe Festa.
The chorus was one of the best in Europe. The scenery department was run by the celebrated
architect Antonio Niccolini.
The visual spectacle was quite as well assured of excellence as the musical.
The opera was generously subsidised by the Bourbons, but in addition to patronage gaming was
also an important income. All under the lavish though watchful management of Domenico Barbaja

The Impresario

Domenico Barbaia
Domenico Barbaia (1777 – 1841)
• The man responsible for bringing Rossini to Naples
• Wasn't a musician, but a serial entrepreneur. Known as an illiterate loudmouth and a
cantankerous bully. But he ran the Royal theatres for the King of Naples
• Supposedly made his first fortune in his native Milan with coffee shops selling a type of
cappucino
• Bought and sold munitions during the Napoleonic wars
• When French conquered Italy, they allowed gambling (which had been forbidden earlier).
Barbaia ran the entire gaming operation at La Scala, Milan by 1805. The spacious foyers of
the opera houses were leased as gaming parlours, promoting the new game of roulette
• Gambling empire funded the opera. He moved to Naples in 1806 to gain control of the
gambling. Naples became famous as much for its gambling as for its opera and royal family.
• His letters make him seem barely literate and often obscene. But he was a main of flair and
acumen with an instinct for the best, even though personally he was singularly lacking in
good taste.
 • Commissioned operas from Donizetti, Bellini and Weber. Employed some of the finest
singers in Europe.
• Offered a contract to Rossini in 1815, lasting seven seasons. Rossini would write 10 operas
for him (9 serious and one comic)

The Operas
• Elisabetta regina d'Inghilterra: 4/10/1815 – Teatro San Carlo, Naples – serious; based on
the life of Elizabeth I, premiered in the presence of King Ferdinand of Naples
• Torvaldo e Dorliska: 26/12/1815 – Rome – semi-serious
• Il barbiere di Siviglia: 20/2/1816 – Roma – comedy
• La gazetta: 26/9/1816 – Teatro de Fiorentini, Naples – comedy; including a character in
Neapolitan dialect
• Otello: 4/12/1816 – Teatro del Fondo, Naples – serious; Loosely based on Shakespeare.
Premiered at the Teatreo del Fondo as the Teatro San Carlo had burned.
• La Cenerentola: 25/1/1817 – Rome – comedy
• La gazza ladra: 31/5/1817 – Teatro all scala, Milan – semi-serious
• Armida: 11/11/1817 – Teatro San Carlo, Naples – serious;
• Adelaide di Borgogna: 27/12/1817 – Rome – serious
• Mose in Egitto: 5/3/1818 – Teatro San Carlo, Naples – serious; Spectacular parting of the
Red Sea to showcase the brilliance of the staging at the newly re-built San Carlo
• Ricciardo e Zoraide: 3/12/1818 - Teatro San Carlo, Naples – serious
• Ermione: 27/3/1819 - Teatro San Carlo, Naples – serious
• Eduardo e Cristina: 24/4/1819 – Venice – serious
• La donna del lago: 24/10/1819 - Teatro San Carlo, Naples – serious;
• Bianca e Falliero: 26/12/1819 - Teatro all scala, Milan – serious
• Maometto II: 3/12/1820 - Teatro San Carlo, Naples – serious;
• Mathilde de Shabran: 24/2/1821 – Rome – semi-serious
• Zelmira: 16/2/1822 - Teatro San Carlo, Naples – serious
• Semiramide: 3/2/1823 – Venice – serious – the last opera Rossini wrote for Italy

This is a remarkable amount of music in 8 years, many works are extremely fine and some are
masterpieces. And these are only the premieres, Rossini was also involved in revivals of his operas
and staged a number of his other operas in Naples.
Rossini didn't achieve this without cutting corners, though he had a great facility. In some operas he
had help, some parts are by a different composer. He also re-used bits. In an age without radio or
recordings it was safe to re-use music in different operas. His early operas for Naples used a lot of
earlier material, and seem deliberately like a 'greatest hits'. His unsuccessful opera for Naples,
Ermione became a mine for Rossini's revivals of other operas. He reused themes; this is Elisabetta's
opening aria from Elisabetta Regina d'Inghilterra, his first opera for Naples.
MUSICAL EXAMPLE 1 – Elisabetta Regina d'Inghilterra
Questo cor ben lo comprende
Montserrat Caballe, Ambrosian Singers, London Symphony Orchestra, Gianfranco Masini
The text is pretty much platitudes but Rossini uses it to establish the blitheness of Elizabeth's
character. She has the verse first alone, then the chorus comment leading to a more
decorated version of the melody with a climax accompanied by the chorus.
Her opening theme, of course, he re-used in Rosina's aria in the Barber of Seville, written a year
later for Rome. And the overture did duty for 3 operas.
After La Cenerentola, Rossini wrote only one further full length comic opera, Le Comte Ory for
Paris. To his contemporaries Rossini was a composer of serious operas who also wrote comedies.
His group of serious operas for Naples were all written for a core of singers who were were the
finest in the world. They worked together regularly and Rossini knew their voices intimately.
Coupled with the best orchestra in Italy, this allowed Rossini to write music which was exactly
tailored to their talents. Also, the atmosphere in Naples (very far from the hurly-burly of operatic
life in the rest of Italy) gave Rossini the space to lavish quite a degree of care on his operas.
The operas include some highly virtuosic writing. The presence of two superb tenors plus one local
acceptable one meant that he wrote extensively for tenors. When Rossini presented Otello in Paris
he had to replace a trio because he could not find two high tenors capable of singing it.
As a composer Rossini was on the cusp of classicism and romanticism. His musical structures are
generally tight and formal (sequences of arias and structured choruses and ensembles), but within
these there is a huge expressive range and variety of technique. Unlike later Romantic composers,
Rossini's drama is always within a balanced framework deriving its energy from rhythmic ostinatos,
the crescendo and vocal fireworks
The situation in Naples allowed him to experiment.
• Maometto and Ermione had many innovations.
• His opera Ermione was unsuccessful.
• The last act of Otello was remarkably true to Shakespeare in an age when librettists played
fast and loosed with sources.
• La Donna del Lago is an important example of an early response to the Romantic movement
The operas are all large scale, generally in two long acts with around three hours of music.
There is no secco recitative (sung dialogue accompanied by just harpsichord), the orchestra
accompanies everything. With its period of French occupation, the theatre at Naples was the first
place in Italy where the French practice of using only orchestrally accompanied recitative caught
hold.
There are also few arias with the emphasis being on ensembles, duets and trios though the
principals still get time to shine. This can make Rossini's operas seem a bit dense and close
textured. But with a little work they are all exceedingly rewarding.

Isabella Colbran (1785 – 1845)

• Spanish soprano, either a dramatic coloratura or a mezzo-soprano with a high extension
• A number of the later roles which Rossini wrote for her are often sung nowadays by mezzo-
sopranos (e.g. Joyce DiDonato)
• Studied in Paris, gained fame in Europe by the age of 20
 • Tall, elegant of stature. Though portraits make her look rather housewifely, she was totally
transformed on stage.
• Her classical features lent themselves to tragedy rather than comedy.
• Rossini first met her in 1807, when he was a student in Bologna
• Moved to Naples in 1811, still a destination for major singers
• She had outstanding success from her first engagement, King Ferdinand became an admirer,
and she was publicly popular.
• Materially well off thanks to professional success and her relationship with Barbaja
• Developed a fondness for gambling.
• Voice began to go off, and Rossini's later roles for her capitalise on her dramatic/histrionic
capabilities rather then her technical abilities in coloratura. Though probably the change was
gradual.
• By La Donna del Lago (1819) she was showing signs of an inability to maintain correct
pitch and sing in tune.
• Started a relationship with Rossini, behind Barbaia's back. No date is known, but
speculation is that it might have happened when her voice started to decline.
• Eloped with Rossini in 1822 and they married in Bologna.
• He would go on to write the title role of Semiramide for her, designed to disguise her
waning talents.
• Her voice – sweet and mellow, with a rich middle register; mastery of trills, half-trills,
staccato, legato, ascending and descending scales and octave leaps. Range from F sharp
below the staff to E above

Andrea Nozzari (1775 – 1832)

• Italian tenor, sang lead tenor role in all nine of Rossini's serious operas in Naples.
• Premiered roles in operas by Pacini, Donizetti, Mayr and Mercadante in Naples.
• Started off as a high tenor (tenori contraltini or tenori di grazia) but as a result of illness in
he lost the ability to sustain the higher register
• Voice had a baritonal quality, and his acting had an intense quality. He could still rise to high
notes, but could not float them in a continuous line.
• Thought by the writer Stendahl to be one of the finest singers in Europe
• His pupils included the distinguished tenor Rubini

Giovanni David (1780 – 1864)

• Italian tenor, sang tenor roles in six of Rossini's serious operas in Naples
• Created roles also in operas by Bellini and Donizetti
• Was a high tenor (tenori contraltini or tenori di grazia) noted for his vocal range, almost 3
octaves up to B flat.
• Noted also for his ability to sing florid music, to a point where some found his decorations
bordering on eccentricity and bad taste.
 • Compared to Nozzari, his acting was limited.
• Retired in 1839 and ran an opera company in St. Petersburg

Other Singers
• Giuseppe Cicimarra (1790 – 1836), local boy, Italian tenor, sang roles in Otello (Iago), and 5
other operas. Retired in 1826 and taught in Vienna where his pupils included Josef
Tichatschek, who sang the title roles in the premieres of Wagner's Rienzi and Tannhauser.
• Benedatta Rosmunda Pisaroni (1793 – 1872), Italian contralto, sang roles in 3 operas.
Started as a soprano with a big range, but she abandoned the soprano repertory and became
a contralto. Had a phenomenal technique, witness the music Rossini wrote for her.
• Michele Benedetti (1778 – 1828), Italian bass, sang title role Mose in Egitto and six other
operas. Stendahl was enthusiastic about his performance as Mose.
• Fillipo Galli (1783 – 1853), Italian bass, sang leading bass roles in Rossini's operas
including L'Italiana in Algeri and Il turco in Italia. Title role in Maometto II was written for
him. Voice known for wide range, extreme agility and espressivity and his gift for acting.

Opera by Opera

Elisabetta regina d'Inghilterra

Libretto by Giovanni Federico Schmidt, poet of the royal theatres in Naples
Elisabetta – Isabella Colbran (soprano) – Queen Elizabeth
Leicester – Andrea Nozzari (tenor) – Earl of Leicester
Matilda – Girolama Dardanelli (soprano) – his wife
Enrico – Maria Manzi (contralto) – Matilda's brother
Norfolk – Manuel Garcia (tenor) – Duke of Norfolk
Guglielmo – Gaetano Chizzola (tenor) - Captain of the guards
When Rossini arrived in Naples there was musical resentment against him, as he was a foreigner, a
northerner from Pesaro. A campaign against him was instigated by supporters of two local opera
composers, Paisiello and Zingarelli. Paisiello considered him a 'licentious' composer and Zinagarelli
forbade his students to study Rossini's music.
Rossini's response was Elisabetta which was designed to impress, rather than move; opting for
magnificence, rather than pathos, with richly florid vocal writing. He also consolidated his
reputation by staging L'Italiana in Algeri at another theatre in Naples.
Was an apt choice of subject, Naples had always been popular with the English and wars over, the
English returned.
The excellent orchestra permitted Rossini greater freedom and sophistication. Also enlarged the role
of the chorus, using it for dramatic emphasis.
It was the first opera in which he abandoned secco recitative, and he used the recitative more
skilfully to reveal more about the characters. He repeats musical motifs and thematic patterns
throughout the opera, effectively making the listener recall earlier dramatic contexts.
Rossini also included the vocal embellishments (the ornamentation) within the vocal score, rather
than the artists interpolating their own cadenzas and ornaments. Not that he did not want to fix these
completely (he re-wrote them for different revivals) but wanted full control.
Represents a major evolution of style , structure and purpose in 19th century opera seria. Rossini
would develop this further in his later Neapolitan works.
Role of Elisabetta has both an entrance aria and showpiece finale, though later Rossini heroines did
not always get both.
Taken from a play, Il paddio di Leicester by Carlo Federici (inspired by a novel by Sara Lee)
presented in Naples the previous year.
Rossini modified the libretto as he went along. Has the virtue of simplicity and clarity. Leicester is
secretly married to Matilde, who is (unbeknown to Leicester) the daughter of Mary Queen of Scots.
Quite a melodramatic farrago.
Audience were initially hostile but won over, and there was thunderous applause after the first act
finale.
Otello
Libretto by Giovanni Federico Schmidt, based on Shakespeare
Otello – Andrea Nozzari (tenor)
Desdemona – Isabella Colbran (soprano)
Rodrigo – Giovanni David (tenor)
Iago – Giuseppe Ciccimarra (tenor)
Emilia – Maria Manzi (mezzo-soprano) – Desdemona's maid
Elmiro – Michele Benedetti (bass) – Desdemona's father
Doge - Gaetano Chizzola (tenor)
Lucio/Gondolier – Nicola Mollo (tenor)
For the first two acts, best think of the characters not as Shakespeare's; pretend they have different
names. The opera explores archetypal situations in Italian opera, a secret marriage between a
military hero and a young woman; a disapproving father who wishes to wed her to another; a
scheming confidante; a duel between rivals; a father's curse. The last act is the only one where the
literary source is apparent. As a libretto, the piece is functional and quite felicitous. We have to put
Shakespeare out of our minds.
The opera occurs at a significant juncture in Rossini's compositional development which shows
itself in the stylistic differences between the conventional first two acts and the highly
Shakespearean last act.
But the first two do contain some beautiful and expressive music, within strict music forms and
with a florid style, so it can seem more impersonal
There is no tender moment between Desdemona and Otello (unlike in Verdi), which colours our
view of the characters. Major duets instead for Iago and Rodrigo and for Otello and Rodrigo.
The three major male roles are all tenors, of different types of course. The florid David, the
baritonal-tenor Nozzari and the Iago of Giuseppe Ciccimarra almost a baritone. This simply reflects
the singers available to him, his next opera Armida would be similarly tenor heavy!
Nozzari refused to 'black up' in the title role.
It is one of the earliest Italian operas of the 19th century to have a tragic ending.
The third act makes Desdemona the centre of the drama and creates one of the most strikingly
imagined heroines of early 19th century Italian opera.
MUSICAL EXAMPLE 3 – Otello - Otello and Rodrigo duet, Desdemona trio
Otello and Rodrigo duet, extended into a fraught trio on Desdemona's entry.
Ah vieni, nel tuo sangue
Salvatore Fisichella, Jose Carreras, Frederica von Stade, Philharmonia Orchestra, Jesus
Lopez Cobos
In this version Otello and Rodrigo are rivals for Desdemona's hand. The standard
construction for this type of piece is fast, slow fast. So in the opening Allegro Otello and
Rodrigo trade insults, each taking a verse in a sort of anything you can do I can do better
sort of manner, with a concluding duet but for the middle section we get a dramatic coup.
Desdemona appears, to extend the duet into a fraught trio (a formula Rossini would repeat).
After a dramatic recitative (Andante maestoso) when Desdemona tries to stop them we get a
trio followed by a lovely transition into the dialogue which leads to the finale section. We
 will have to leave it before the end as the full piece is 12 minutes long.

Armida
Libretto by Giovanni Schmidt, based on scenes from Gerusalemme liberata by Torquato Tasso
Armida – Isabella Colbran (soprano) – Princess of Damascus, a sorceress
Rinaldo – Andrea Nozzari (tenor) – a paladin knight
Gernando/Ubaldo – Claudio Bonoldi (tenor) - paladins
Carlo/Goffredo – Giuseppe Ciccimarra (tenor) – paladin / leader of the paladins
Eustazio/Astarotte – Gaetano Chizzola (tenor) – Goffredo's brother / leader of Armida's sprits
Idarote – Michele Benedetti (bass) – King of Damascus, Armida's uncle
First performed at the Teatro di San Carlo, 11 November 1817 to celebrate the opening of the rebuilt
opera house.
Plot: Concerns the Christian paladins on the Crusades. Armida manages to enchant and seduce
Rinaldo and take him off to her realm. But his companions come to his rescue.
Role of Armida is one of the longest and most demanding that Rossini wrote and it is only full
length opera with only one female role.
Radical innovations include ballet music and a more extended role for the chorus.
Not much liked.
Richard Osborne detects a darker more sensual quality to Rossini's writing here, and wonders
whether Rossini's relationship to Colbran had anything to do with it.
Act one justaposes the brilliant daylit world of chivalric endeavour with the gloomier more sensual
world of the sorceress Armida then dramatically interlocks them both.
At the centre of act 1 is the famous love duet for Armida and Rinaldo, Amor, possente nome
Act 2 has a fluid, baroque feel to it. It starts in a ghastly, Fury-infested forest, a Weber-ish moment
which pre-dates Der Freischutz over 3 years, includes Rossini's first full ballet and act culminates in
a virtuoso display piece for Armida
Act 3 returns with the Christian-Pagan, light-and dark oppositions. The opera does not resolve
these, there's neither a sinking to the abyss nor an apotheosis, Armida just flies off. Armida might be
a great femme-fatale but, as Richard Osborne puts it 'Rossini wasn't interested in her immortal soul.'
MUSICAL EXAMPLE 5 - Rinaldo, Carlo, Ubaldo's trio
In quale aspetto imbelle
Bruce Ford, William Matteuzzi, Paul Austin Kelly, Philharmonia Orchestra, David Parry
Most famous moment in act 3, when Rinaldo sees his besotted image reflected in the
adamantine shield which Ubaldo and Carlo hold up before him. The resulting Trio for 3
tenors In quale aspetto imbelle is justly famous.
Begins maestoso, a canon introducing the three, Rinaldo, Carlo, Ubaldo. Instead of a central
slow section, we get a more moderate tempo with dramatic dialogue as Rinaldo recognises
the degeneracy into which he has fallen. Finally an Allegro, a rousing celebration of the
tenor voice.
Mose in Egitto
Libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola, based on a 1760 play by Francesco Ringhieri, L'Osiride
Moses – Michele Benedetti (bass)
Faraone – Raniero Remorini (bass) - Pharaoh
Amaltea – Frederike Funck (soprano) – Pharaoh's wife
Osiride – Andrea Nozzari (tenor) – Pharaoh's son
Elcia – Isabella Colbran (soprano) – Hebrew girl.
Aronne/Mambre – Giuseppe Ciccimarra (tenor) – Aaron / a priest
Rossini's azione tragico-sacra was first performed at the Teatro San Carlo on 5 March 1818. The
audience admired everything except for the short final act, the crossing of the Red Sea. The staging
appears to have elicited hows of derision. A year later Rossini presented the opera again, with the
third act re-written. He would make major changes for the French version.
An opera in sacred garb, a way of circumventing official sanctions against performing secular
music in Lent.
It balances the story of Moses and his people, with a personal story of passion: the plight of Elcia a
Hebrew girl secretly betrothed to Osiride, the Egyptian prince. This balance is the central problem
facing Rossini in the opera. The biblical story frames the action, act one sees the Egyptians
lamenting the plague of darkness, act three has Moses prayer and the crossing of the Red Sea. In the
middle act is dominated by the love of Elcia and Osiride, though he is dead by the end of the act.
Having the title role played by a bass, even a popular one like Michele Benedetti was
unconventional.
It was the grandeur of the story which appealed to Rossini most, with its massive ensembles choral
movements, declamatory solos. The most famous number is the prayer from act three,
MUSICAL EXAMPLE 6 Mose in Egitto: Preghiera
Al tuo stellato solgio - (Mose, Coro, Aronne, Elcia, Amenosi)
Ruggero Raimondi, Salvatore Fisichella, June Anderson, Sandra Browne, Ambrosian Opera
Chorus, Philharmonia Orchestra, Claudio Scimone
Here Rossini's structure is simple, a series of verses for Mose, Aronne and Elcia each one
echoed by the chorus, with a final ensemble verse at the end. All held together by a simple
but gloriously long-breathed tune, the final ensemble transforming the melody from minor to
blazing major.
The music for Elicia, Osiride and Osiride's father is more generic, less dependent on the drama. In
fact for several pieces, Rossini borrowed from earlier operas.
Ricciardo e Zoraide
Libretto by Francesco Berio de Sals, based on cantos XIV and XV of Il Ricciardetto, an epic poem
by Niccolo Forteguerri
First performed at the Teatro San Carlo, 3 December 1818
Agorante – Andrea Nozzari (tenor)
Zomira – Benedetta Rosmunda Pisaroni (contralto)
Zamorre – Gaetano Chizzola (tenor)
Elmira – Raffaella de Bernadis (mezzo-soprano)
Ircano – Michele Benedetti (bass)
Zoraide – Isabella Colbran (soprano)
Ricciardo – Giovanni David (tenor)
Fatima – Maria Manzi (mezzo-soprano)
Ernesto – Giuseppe Ciccimarra (tenor)
It is rather an experimental work, like Ermione but the subject is rather less focussed and the work
suffers. The libretto is an exotic blockbuster set amid Asian potentates, Christian knights and
African emissaries. Theme of private emotions in a public context. Richard Osborne describes it as
'a Marlowe epic re-written by the Marx brothers'.
Rossini's makes extensive use of the stage band here, something that would re-occur in later operas.
Ermione
Libretto by Andrea Leon Tottola, based on the play Andromaque by Jean Racine
Ermione (Hermione) – Isabella Colbran (soprano); daughter of Helen and Menelaus
Andromaca (Andromache) – Benedetta Rosmunda Pisaroni (contralto); widow of Hector
Pirro (Pyrrhus) – Andrea Nozzari (tenor); son of Achilles and king of Epirus
Oreste (Orestes) – Giovanni David (tenor); son of Agamemnon
Pilade (Pylades) – Giuseppe Ciccimarra (tenor); Oreste's companion
Cleone – Maria Manzini (mezzo-soprano); Ermione's confidante
Fenicio – Michele Benedetti (bass); Pirro's tutor
Cefisa – Raffaella De Bernardis (contralto); Andromaca's confidante
Attalo – Gaetano Chizzola (tenor); Pirro's confidant
The least immediately successful but one of the greatest
Extreme purity of action and expression, sometimes highly unusual gestures which were perhaps
too much for the contemporary audience. Of all his works for Naples it was the only major and
irredeemable failure. Little to this suggest in advance. written for the same team of star singers.
It received only seven performances, the last two of Act 1 only. Rossini did not refer to the fiasco in
his letters, there is simply silence.
Libretto follows Racine more closely than was the usual practice
Musically, the opera begins in accepted early 19th century forms, but ends in an altogether new
realm which we would recognise as perhaps music-drama. The opening is traditionally florid, but
by the end of act 2 Rossini has moved towards free declamation in the style of Gluck.
Here the music mirrors the drama, as in the plot the conventional political structures break down
and the work ends in anarchy (Pirro the autocrat has been assassinated, Pilade and his followers
drag Oreste away to his boat and Ermione is left dead or unconscious). All this is the result of
Ermione's jealous, and her implacable wish for revenge.
La donna del lago
Libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola based on a French translation of The Lady of the Lake, a narrative
poem written in 1810 by Sir Walter Scott
Elena – Isabella Colbran (soprano); the Lady of the Lake
Malcolm Groeme – Benedetta Rosmunda Pisaroni (contralto); Malcolm Graham
Uberto, alias Giacomo – Giovanni David (tenor); King James V of Scotland
Douglas – Michele Benedetti (bass); father of Elena and former tutor to King James
Rodrigo – Andrea Nozzari (tenor); chief of the Highlanders
Serano – Gaetano Chizzola (tenor); Douglas's retainer
Albina – Maria Manzi (mezzo-soprano); Elena's confidante
Bertram – Massimo Orlandini (bass)
Premiered 24 October 1819
Plot: Scotland's King James V wanders the land disguised as Uberto. He encounters Elena, daughter
of Douglas. She is in love with Malcolm Graeme, but her father has promised her to Rodrigo who is
a powerful clan chief who supports Douglas in his struggle against James V.
Rossini's opera was the first Italian opera to be based on Sir Walter Scott (the first of many).
Scott's romantic word-painting inspired him to go beyond normal convention and create something
recognisably romantic.
In writing the opera, Rossini was substituting for Spontini, who had been engaged by Barbaja but
seemed reluctant to leave his Berlin. Rossini wrote the opera quickly and seems to have had help,
all the accompanied recitatives and one of Douglas's arias are in another hand.
Barbaja was out of favour with the Neapolitan public, no matter what spectacle he mounted the
reception was muted or even hostile. Colbran was also showing signs of decline.
The premiere was less than brilliant; it was a gala evening but the court wasn't present and the
atmosphere was lively as the audience was full of military officers. At one point Nozzari, who could
not hear the orchestra from the back of the stage, attacked a note from below pitch. The audience
whistled, booed and challenged both artists and composer throughout the entire evening.
After the premiere Rossini travelled North, when in Rome he was asked about the opera's reception
he said 'You should have been able to hear the hissing from here'
As with Otello we need to forget the source, an operatic libretto designed for a two hour stage
spectacle cannot do justice to a six-canto poem crammed with incident. But nowadays Scott is no
longer every day reading so this causes fewer problems.
The heroine is transformed into a very Italianate 'Scottish Lassie' but she is still simple and
unassuming, unlike the usual heroines. She marks a major step in bringing leading opera characters
into the realm of realistic life.
In writing the libretto, Tottola was also influenced by the tales of Ossian, published in 1760 by
James Macpherson, claiming to be poetry written by the ancient bard Ossian.
Neither of the tenors gets the girl, Elena goes to Malcolm, the contralto. A woman playing male
hero was known as a musico and replaced the castrato; it was a very Italian thing, the French had
not used castratos in opera and didn't use women playing men. Rossini was laying down something
of a challenge as Naples had become accustomed to French customs in opera after French rule.
The piece makes extensive use of the banda and on-stage instruments and a complex interaction
between them and the pit. It was usual for composers to write for the banda in such a way as it
could act independently, simply being cued to start.
The opera contains something for everybody, spectacle, grand choral effect and orchestral effects,
virtuoso singing and some lovely intimate moments. It is one of Rossini's most richly and
attractively melodious scores.
MUSICAL EXAMPLE: Act 1 finale.
Carmen Giannatasio, Patricia Bardon, Gregory Kunde Robert Gleadow, Edinburgh Festival
Chorus, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Maurizio Benini
Act 1 finale ends with Rossini bringing all his forces together, soloists, three choruses
(Bards, warriors and women), banda, trumpets and orchestra including harp.
Opens with a chorus of bards singing a hymn, taken up by the women, much akin to the
prayer from Mose.
Then Rodrigo comes in with a new dramatic moment
Followed by a meteor in the sky.
Malcolm, Rodrigo and Douglas's new martial theme is accompanied by the banda
Then Rossini daringly combines the different material for all these, women, bards and
warriors into a wonderfully stirring final ensemble.
Maometto II
Libretto by Cesare della Valle, based on his play Anna Erizo
Set in the 1470's during a time of war between the Turks and Venetians,
Maometto II – Filippo Galli (bass); Sultan Mehmed II
Paolo Erisso – Andrea Nozzari (tenor); head of the Venetians in Negroponte
Anna – Isabella Colbran (soprano); his daughter
Calbo – Adelaide Comelli (mezzo-soprano); Venetian noble
Condulmiero – Giuseppe Cicimarra (tenor); Venetian noble
Selimo – Gaetano Chizzola (tenor); Muslim noble
Nozzari not romantic lead.
In some ways Rossini's most ambitious opera. Failed to find an audience in Naples.
May have been influenced by Rossini's preparing Spontini's Fernando Cortez for its Italian
premiere in Naples. (The Spontini wasn't much liked either)
Rossini made extensive revisions for performances in Venice and Paris, smoothing out the most
audacious elements of the score.
Its composition process was long, and unexpectedly fraught. From early July 1820 political
upheavals threatened the rule of King Ferdinand, prevented theatrical productions and extended the
composition process. Rossini modified the libretto, playing down the political and nationalistic
elements. By 1821 the political situation was sufficiently under control for things to continue.
The opera contains many unusual features which partly explain why the first audience did not take
to the work.
The first act lasts 90 minutes, but has only five sections, one of which is the terzettone (literally big
fat trio) which lasts 25 minutes and includes the temporary departure of the two principals, intrusive
cannon fire, an outbreak of popular dismay and a prayer.
Instead of the usual bel canto finale with a florid rondo for a happy end, or a cabaletta for a tragic
one, Rossini gives the prima donna a 40 minute display of vocal artistry during which she never
leaves the stage.
There are only five independent arias in the opera
Zelmira
Libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola based on the French play Zelmire by de Belloy.
First performance at the Teatro San Carlo on 16 February 1822
Polidoro – Antonio Ambrosi (bass); King of Lesbos
Zelmira – Isabella Colbran (soprano); his daughter
Emma – Anna Maria Cecconi (contralto); her confidante
Ilo – Giovanni David (tenor); Prince of Troy and husband of Zelmira
Antenore – Andrea Nozzari (tenor); a usurper from Mytilene
Leucippo – Michele Benedetti (bass baritone); his confidant, a general
Eacide – Gaetano Chizzola (tenor); a follower of Prince Ilo
High priest of Jupiter – Massimo Orlandini (bass)
The opera's complicated plot revolves around Zelmira, her father Polidor, the wise and beloved king
of the Isle of Lesbos and her husband, Prince Ilo., and a disappointed suitor , Azor, the lord of
Mytilene who tries assassination and usurping the throne.
No more than a succes d'estime, a chilly, rather petrified quality in the score. Was Rossini's heart in
it The press was generally deplorable . Richard Osborne finds the writing for Colbran 'rather
careful'
Not his last opera for the company as he wrote Semiramide for them, with Colbran in the title role
whilst they were resident at the Kartnertor Theater in Vienna.

Final MUSICAL EXAMPLE - Otello: Willow song.

O tu, del mio dolor
Montserrat Caballe, Orchestra of RCA Italiana, Carlo Felice Cillario
Otello: Willow song – a masterful demonstration of music's power to enrich a strophic framework
with emotional depth. Superb harp intro, subtle variations from strophe to strophe give the piece its
character. The growing storm impinges on Desdemona, after a recitative she sings the final verse,
shorn of ornament, with a haunting commentary for the winds which raises the tension so that the
distraught Desdemona abandons her efforts and the song remains incomplete.
1 - Elisabetta Regina d'Inghilterra: Elisabetta's entrance aria
Quant'e grato all'alma mia
CD 1 Track 5: 3'04
Montserrat Caballe, Ambrosian Singers, London Symphony Orchestra, Gianfranco Masini

3 - Otello: Rodrigo, Otello and Desdemona's trio

Ah vieni, nel tuo sangue
CD 2: Track 6: 8.59
Salvatore Fisichella, Jose Carreras, Frederica von Stade

5 - Armida: Rinaldo, Carlo, Ubaldo's trio

In quale aspetto imbelle
Three Tenors CD: Track 9: 8.30
Bruce Ford, William Matteuzzi, Paul Austin Kelly, Philharmonia Orchestra, David Parry

6 - Mose in Egitto: Preghiera (Mose, Coro, Aronne, Elcia, Amenosi)

Al tuo stellato solgio
CD 2: Track 20: 5.07
Ruggero Raimondi, Salvatore Fisichella, June Anderson, Sandra Browne, Ambrosian Opera
CHorus, Philharmonia Orchestra, Claudio Scimone

10 - La Donna del Lago: Act 1 finale

Gia un raggio forier
Su.. amici! guerrieri
CD 2: track 19: 3'20
CD 2: track 20: 1'40
Carmen Giannatsio, Patricia Bardon, Gregory Kunde Robert Gleadow, Edinburgh Festival Chorus,
Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Maurizio Benini

4 - Otello: Desdemona's Willow Song

O tu, del mio dolor
Caballe CD: Track 2: 11.13
Montserrat Caballe, Orchestra of RCA Italiana, Carlo Felice Cillario
IMAGES

1) Teatro San Carlo – view from the Royal Box

2) Domenico Barbaja
3) Isabella Colbran
4) Andrea Nozzari (1775 – 1832) as Poliflegante in Simon Mayr's Il sogno di Partenope
5) Giovanni David as Alessandro in Pacini's Gli arabi nelle Gallie
6) Rossini photographed in 1865 by Carjat
7) Rossini in 1820