Adelia
Opera by Gaetano Donizetti
Gaetano Donizetti, portrayed by Josef Kriehuber in 1842
Other titleLa figlia dell'arciere
Librettist
LanguageItalian
Premiere
11 February 1841 (1841-02-11)
Teatro Apollo, Rome

Adelia, o La figlia dell'arciere (Adelia, or The Archer's Daughter) is an opera in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The Italian libretto was written partly by Felice Romani (acts 1 and 2) and by Girolamo Maria Marini [it] (act 3), a part-time poet who had achieved notability the previous year with Otto Nicolai's Il templario. The opera premiered at the Teatro Apollo, Rome on 11 February 1841.

Roles

Roles, voice types, premiere cast
Role Voice type Premiere cast, 11 February 1841[1]
Conductor: Emilio Angelini
Carlo, Duke of Burgundy baritone Filippo Valentini
Oliviero, Count of Fienna tenor Lorenzo Salvi
Arnoldo, commander of the French archers in the service of the Duke bass Ignazio Marini
Adelia, his daughter soprano Giuseppina Strepponi
Comino, the Duke's chamberlain tenor Pietro Gasperini
Odetta, Adelia's friend mezzo-soprano Clementina Baroni
A squire of Oliviero bass Luigi Fossi

Synopsis

Time: "The past"[2]
Place: Burgundy

The story features the protagonist, Adelia, the daughter of Arnoldo, one of Duke Carlo's bodyguards. The Duke returns from a successful battle to find a fellow nobleman, Count Oliviero, leaving Arnoldo's house which is on Carlo's estate. The chorus then sing rumors that Oliviero has slept with Adelia, taking her virginity. The Duke sentences Oliviero to death for this perceived transgression, but the other characters prevent this. By the end of the opera, all agree to the marriage.[3]

Notable arias and numbers

Act 1

Act 2

Act 3

Recordings

Year Cast:
Carlo, Oliviero, Arnoldo, Adelia 		Conductor,
Opera house and orchestra 		Label[4]
1998 Stefano Antonucci,
Octavio Arévalo,
Boris Martinovic,
Mariella Devia 		John Neschling
Teatro Carlo Felice, Genoa Orchestra and Chorus
(Recorded at performances in the Teatro Carlo Felice, January/ February) 		CD: BMG Ricordi(Agorá)
Cat: RFCD 2029
2006 Giulio Mastronataro,
David Sotgiu,
Andrea Silvestrelli,
Michela Sburlati 		Gustav Kuhn
Haydn Orchestra of Bozen and Trient [de] and the Haydn Choir
(Recorded at concert performances in the Bolzano Auditorium, Bolzano, 11–16 December) 		CD: RCA Red Seal
Cat: 88697 10813 2

References

  1. ^ Casaglia, Gherardo (2005). "Adelia, 11 February 1841". L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia (in Italian).
  2. ^ Osborne, Charles (1994). The Bel Canto Operas of Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini. Portland, Oregon: Amadeus Press. p. 279. ISBN 0-931340-71-3.
  3. ^ Tommasini, Anthony (15 November 1999). "Music Review; Neglected Donizetti Opera Makes a Case for Itself". The New York Times (review of a concert performance at Carnegie Hall by the Opera Orchestra of New York, conducted by Eve Queler). Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  4. ^ Source of recordings on operadis-opera-discography.org.uk

Further reading

External links

Gaetano Donizetti
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