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Lucrezia Borgia is a melodramatic opera in a prologue and two acts by Gaetano Donizetti.
Felice Romani wrote the Italian libretto after the play by Vittore Ugo, in its turn after the legend of Lucrezia Borgia.
Lucrezia Borgia was first performed on 26 December 1833 at La Scala, Milan with Lelande and Pedrazzi.
While not performed as regularly as Donizetti's more popular operas, Lucrezia's aria "Com'è bello", Orsino's Brindisi ("Il segreto per esser felici"), the tenor's "Di pescator ignobile", and the bass aria "Vieni, la mia vendetta!" are all very effective and famous melodic moments from the opera and have been performed and recorded frequently.
The first London production was at Her Majesty's Theatre on 6 June 1839 with Giulia Grisi and Mario.
When the opera was staged in Paris (Théâtre des Italiens) in 1840, Vittore Ugo obtained an injunction against further productions within the domain of French copyright law.
The libretto was then rewritten and retitled La rinegata, with the Italian characters changed to Turks, and the performances were resumed.
The first English-language production was in London on 30 December 1843.
The English tenor Sims Reeves was a noted Gennaro. Lucrezia was first presented at New York's American Theatre on 11 May 1843 [1] and later at the Astor Opera House in 1847: with Giulia Grisi in 1854; and with Thérèse Tietjens and Brignoli in 1876.
It was given at the Academy of Music, Philadelphia, in 1882, and at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York in 1902 with Enrico Caruso as Gennaro.
It was given at the Academy of Music, Philadelphia, in 1882, and at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York in 1902 with Enrico Caruso as Gennaro.
Tietjens, a particularly famous 19th century Lucrezia, made her debut in the role at Hamburg in 1849, and in her day was unequalled and completely identified with the role. (She was also a superb Norma, Donna Anna, and Agathe.) In later life she became very fat, and collapsed on stage at Her Majesty's Theatre, London during her last performance, in this role, in 1877, and died soon afterwards.
A famous performance of Lucrezia Borgia presented by the American Opera Society Ensemble in 1965 at Carnegie Hall with soprano Montserrat Caballé, who was making her American debut, was soon followed by a recording featuring Caballé, mezzo soprano Shirley Verrett, tenor Alfredo Kraus, and bass Ezio Flagello, conducted by Jonel Perlea, who also led the Carnegie Hall performance. This performance and recording helped re-introduce the work to the opera-loving public.
Lucrezia Borgia is performed from time to time as a vehicle for a star soprano, cases in point being the 2008 performances at the Washington National Opera with Renée Fleming and the 2009 Munich production with Edita Gruberová. Fleming also sang the role at San Francisco Opera in October 2011.
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, 26 December 1834 (Conductor: - Eugenio Cavallini) |
|---|---|---|
| Alfonso D'ESTE, Duca di Ferrara | bass | Luciano Mariani |
| Lucrezia BORGIA | soprano | Henriette Méric-Lalande |
| Maffio ORSINI | contralto | Marietta Brambilla |
| Gennaro, nobleman in service of the Venetian Republic | tenor | Francesco Pedrazzi |
| Jeppo LIVEROTTO, nobleman in service of the Venetian Republic | tenor | Napoleone Marconi |
| Aposto GAZELLA, nobleman in service of the Venetian Republic | bass | Giuseppe Visanetti |
| Ascanio PETRUCCI, nobleman in service of the Venetian Republic | baritone | Ismaele Guaita |
| Oloferno VITELLOZZO, nobleman in service of the Venetian Republic | tenor | Giuseppe Vaschetti |
| Rustighello, in the service of Don Alfonso | tenor | Ranieri Pochini |
| Gubetta, in service of Lucrezia | bass | Domenico Spiaggi |
| Astolfo, in service of Lucrezia | tenor | Francesco Petrazzoli |
| Gentlemen-at-arms, officers, and nobles of the Venetian Republic; same, attached to court of Alfonso; ladies-in-waiting, Capuchin monks, etc. | ||
Time: Early 16th century.
Place: Venice and Ferrara
The Prologue opens at he Palazzo Grimani, Venezia.
Gennaro and his friends, including Orsini, celebrate on the brightly lit terrace, in front of which lies the Giudecca canal.The friends’ conversation turns to Don Alfonso, Duca di Ferrara, to whose house they will be travelling the next day, and to his wife, the infamous Lucrezia Borgia.
On hearing Lucrezia’s name, Orsini tells of how Gennaro and he, alone in a forest, were warned by a mysterious old man to beware her and the entire Borgia family.
Professing his boredom with Orsini’s tale Gennaro wanders off and falls asleep nearby.
Gennaro's friends are invited to rejoin the festivities.
Gennaro is left alone.
A gondola appears and a masked woman steps onto the terrace.
She hurries over to the sleeping Gennaro and observes him with affection.
-- Com'è bello! Quale incanto in quel volto onesto e altero!
-- She kisses his hand, he wakes and is instantly struck by her beauty.
He expresses his love for her and sings of his childhood as an orphan brought up by fishermen.
He adds that he loves dearly the mother he has never met.
-- Di pescatore ignobile esser figliuol credei.
-- The others return and instantly recognise her as LUCREZIA BORGIA, listing in turn the members of their families she has killed to Gennaro’s horror.
Act 1 opens in Ferrara
The Duke of Ferrara, believing Gennaro to be Lucrezia Borgia’s lover, plots his murder with his servant Rustighello-- Vieni: la mia vendetta è mediatata e pronta.
Gennaro and his companions leave the house for a party and pass the Duke’s palace with its large gilded coat of arms reading ‘Borgia’.
Keen to show his contempt for the Borgia family, Gennaro removes the initial ‘B’, leaving the obscene ‘Orgia’ ("orgy").
In the palace, Lucrezia Borgia is shown into the Duke’s chamber.
Having seen the defaced crest, Lucrezia Borgia demands death for the perpetrator, not knowing that it is Gennaro.
The Duke of Ferrara orders Gennaro to be brought before her and accuses him of staining the noble name of Borgia, a crime to which he readily confesses.
Lucrezia Borgia, horrified, attempts to excuse the insult as a youthful prank, but Don Alfonso accuses Lucrezia of infidelity, having observed her meeting with Gennaro in Venice.
In a scene full of drama and tension, Lucrezia Borgia denies any impropriety.
The Duke of Ferrara demands the prisoner’s death and forces her to choose the manner of Gennaro’s execution.
Pretending to pardon him, the Duke of Ferrara offers Gennaro a glass of wine and he swallows it.
After a stunning trio (Guai se ti sfugge un moto, Se ti tradisce un detto!) the Duke leaves and Lucrezia hurries to Gennaro, giving him an antidote to the poison the Duke has mixed with the wine.
He drinks, and in a last duet, she implores him to flee the city and her husband.
-- Bevi e fuggi ... te'n prego, o Gennaro!
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The Act II opens at The palace of the Princess Negroni
Ignoring Lucrezia Borgia's advice, Gennaro attends a party at the palace, swearing never to be parted from his friend Orsini.
Orsini leads the party in a brindisi or drinking song (Il segreto per esser felici) and they drink.
Lucrezia Borgia enters and announces that in revenge for their insults in Venice she has poisoned their wine and arranged five coffins for their bodies.
She has hitherto believed that Gennaro fled Ferrara on her advice, and is thus dismayed when he steps forward and announces that she has poisoned a sixth.
Orsini, Liverotto, Vitellozzo, Petrucci and Gazella fall dead.
Gennaro seizes a dagger and attempts to kill Lucrezia Borgia.
Lucrezia Borgia stops Gennaro by revealing that he is in fact her son.
Once again she asks him to drink the antidote.
This time he refuses, choosing to die with his friends.
In a final cabaletta (Era desso il figlio mio,) Lucrezia mourns her son and expires.
Recordings:
| Year | Cast (Lucrezia, Genaro, Maffio Orsini, Don Alfonso) | Conductor, Opera House and Orchestra | Label[2] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | Montserrat Caballé, Alain Vanzo, Jane Berbié, Kostas Paskalis | Jonel Perlea, American Opera Society orchestra and chorus (Recording of a concert performance at Carnegie Hall, July) | Audio CD: Opera D'Oro Cat: 1030815 |
| 1966 | Montserrat Caballé, Alfredo Kraus, Shirley Verrett, Ezio Flagello | Jonel Perlea, RCA Italiana Opera Chorus and Orchestra | Audio CD: RCA Cat: RCAG 66422RG |
| 1973 | Leyla Gencer, José Carreras, Tatiana Troyanos, Matteo Manuguerra | Nicola Rescigno, Dallas Civic Opera | Audio CD: Melodram Cat: 270109 |
| 1975 | Joan Sutherland, John Brecknock, Huguette Tourangeau, Michael Devlin | Richard Bonynge, Houston Symphony Orchestra orchestra and chorus | Audio LP: MRF Records Cat:MRF-121-S |
| 1977 | Joan Sutherland, Margreta Elkins, Robert Allman, Ron Stevens | Richard Bonynge, Sydney Elizabethan Orchestra and Chorus of Australian Opera (Live recording) | DVD: Opus Arte "Faveo", Cat: OAF 4026D |
| 1978 | Joan Sutherland, Giacomo Aragall, Marilyn Horne, Ingvar Wixell | Richard Bonynge, National Philharmonic Orchestra and London Opera Chorus | Audio CD: Decca Cat: 421497 |
| 1979 | Leyla Gencer, Alfredo Kraus, Elena Zilio, Bonaldo Giaiotti | Gabriele Ferro, Teatro Comunale di Firenze orchestra and chorus | Audio CD: Living Stage Cat: LS1096 |
| 1980 | Joan Sutherland, Alfredo Kraus, Anne Howells, Stafford Dean | Richard Bonynge, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden orchestra and chorus | DVD: Covent Garden Pioneer Cat: B 12385-01 Audio CD: Celestial Audio Cat: CA 257 |
| 1989 | Joan Sutherland, Alfredo Kraus, Martine Dupuy, Michele Pertusi | Richard Bonynge, Gran Teatro del Liceo orchestra and chorus (Video recording of a performance in the Gran Teatro del Liceo, 31 May) | VHS Video Cassette: Lyric Distribution, Cat: 1842 (incomplete) & 1882 (1990) |
| 1998 | Renée Fleming, Marcello Giordani, Sonia Ganassi, Michele Pertusi | Gianluigi Gelmetti La Scala orchestra and chorus (Recording of a performance at the Teatro Arcimboldi, 6 July) | Audio CD: House of Opera Cat: CDBB 227 |
| 2000 | Renée Fleming, Marcello Giordani, Stephanie Blythe, Dean Peterson | Eve Queler Opera Orchestra of New York orchestra and chorus (Recording of a performance at the Carnegie Hall, 14 February) | Audio CD: House of Opera Cat: CD5908 |
| 2002 | Mariella Devia, Marcelo Alvarez, Daniela Barcellona, Michele Pertusi | Renato Palumbo La Scala orchestra and chorus (Audio and video recordings of a performance at La Scala, 28 September) | DVD: Premiere Opera Ltd. Cat: DVD 5 Audio CD: House of Opera Cat: CDBB 226 |
| 2008 | Renée Fleming, Vittorio Grigolo, Kate Aldrich, Ruggero Raimondi | Plácido Domingo Washington National Opera Orchestra and Chorus (Recording of a performance in the Kennedy Center, Washington, 17 November) | Audio CD: Premiere Opera Ltd. Cat: 4403-2[3] |
| 2009 | Edita Gruberova, Pavol Breslik, Alice Coote, Franco Vassallo | Bertrand De Billy Bayerisches Staatsoper (Recording of a performance in the Nationaltheater, Munich, February) | DVD Medici Arts, Cat: 2072458-1 |
| 2010 | Edita Gruberova, José Bros, Silvia Tro Santafé, Franco Vassallo | Andriy Yurkevych WDR Rundfunkorchester Köln (Recording of a performance in the Philarmonie Köln, 4 June) | Audio CD: Nightingale Classics AG. Cat: NC 000100-2 |
| 2010 | Mariella Devia, Giuseppe Filianoti, Mariana Pizzolato, Alex Esposito | Marco Guidarini Orchestra Filarmonica Marchigiana (Recording of a performance in Teatro delle Muse di Ancona, February | Audio CD: Bongiovanni Cat: GB 2560/62 |
References:
Notes
^ Source for recording information: operadis-opera-discography.org.uk
^ "Hear An Opera: Renee Fleming In Lucrezia Borgia from The Washington National Opera" on npr.org. Retrieved 20 September 2009
SourcesAshbrook, William, Donizetti and His Operas, Cambridge University Press, 1982, ISBN 0-521-23526-X ISBN 0-521-23526-X
Holden, Amanda (Ed.), The New Penguin Opera Guide, New York: Penguin Putnam, 2001. ISBN 0-14-029312-4
Kobbé, Gustav, The Complete Opera Book, English edition (London and New York 1922), 339-343.
Osborne, Charles, The Bel Canto Operas of Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini, Portland, Oregon: Amadeus Press, 1994 ISBN 0-931340-71-3
Rosenthal, H. and Warrack, J., Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera (Corrected edition) (London & Oxford 1974).
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
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