I briganti is an opera (melodramma) in three acts by Saverio Mercadante, first performed on 22 March 1836 by the Théâtre-Italien in Paris, with an Italian libretto by Jacopo Crescini based on Schiller's Die Räuber.[1] The lead roles were written for bass Luigi Lablache, tenor Giovanni Battista Rubini, baritone Antonio Tamburini and soprano Giulia Grisi.[2] The opera did not do well in Paris,[3] and the cast departed for London.[4][5] [6]
The opera was also performed in Italian at The King's Theatre in London with the same lead singers, beginning on 2 July 1836; at the Teatro San Benedetto in Venice on 30 September 1836; in Milan on 6 November 1837; in Cagliari, Sardinia, in the autumn of 1837; in Lisbon on 16 September 1838; at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples in the winter season of 1839; in Madrid on 12 December 1839; in Malta in 1840; and in Corfu in 1844. It was revived in Malta in 1886.[4]
It was revived for the Rossini in Wildbad festival in 2012 and an audio recording was issued.[7]
Role[8] | Voice type | Premiere cast, 22 March 1836 |
---|---|---|
Massimiliano, Count of Moor, a Prince of the Blood Royal | bass | Luigi Lablache |
Ermano, son of Massimiliano | tenor | Giovanni Battista Rubini |
Corrado, son of Massimiliano | baritone | Antonio Tamburini |
Amelia d'Edelreich, niece of Massimiliano | soprano | Giulia Grisi |
Teresa, confidante of Amelia | mezzo-soprano | |
Bertrand, a hermit | bass | |
Roller, a friend of Ermano | tenor | |
Chorus: Warriors, villagers, women, attendants, pages, domestics, brigands, etc. |