Elena da Feltre is an opera in three acts by 19th-century Italian composer Saverio Mercadante from a libretto by Salvatore Cammarano, well known as librettist of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor and Verdi's Il trovatore . The premiere took place at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples on 1 January 1839 as part of the Carnival Season. While not successful at the time, the opera was revived at La Scala in 1843 with twenty performances.
When composing Elena da Feltre in 1838, Mercadante wrote to Francesco Florimo, laying out his ideas about how opera should be structured, following the "revolution" begun in his previous opera, Il giuramento :
Elena seems to match up with the new concepts: greater involvement of the orchestra; fewer vocal "fireworks"; a more simple vocal line but more adventuresome harmonies and drama when compared to Il giuramento.
"Mercadante wanted to break free from any formulas developed by earlier composers, especially those of Rossini......The romantic hero is given to the bass-baritone voice, and the villain was played by the famous French tenor Nourrit. The story is tragic and violent, filled with romantic intrigues and twisted passions. The part of Elena is one of Mercadante's outstanding soprano vocal roles. Her opening romanza is one of the opera's finest highlights, although he later replaced it with an equally brilliant florid cavatina. The finale to the third act is another extremely strong number. The skillfully wrought ensemble reflects the dramatic tension of the script, as the denouement comes to its tragic conclusion." [2]
In a 20th-century examination of Mercadante's operas by Patric Schmid, a critical comment noted:
Although not successful in its initial performance in Naples, "it achieved a considerable success in the rest of Italy and Europe where it was performed in several places between 1839 and 1860 with twenty performances at La Scala in the 1843 autumn season". [4] It was performed at Covent Garden in London in January 1842 and in Dublin that July.
But, like most of Mercadante's operas, Elena da Feltre had disappeared from the repertory by the late 19th century. It was not until the mid-1900s that his operas began to see the light of day, and the revival of Elena did not take place until the October 1997 performances at the Wexford Festival in Ireland.
In 1999, with almost the same cast as had appeared at Wexford (including Monica Colonna in the title role), the opera was presented at the Teatro Rossini in Lugo, Italy, as part of the Lugo Opera Festival which has been held since the mid-1980s. [5]
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast (Conductor: Nicola Festa) [6] |
|---|---|---|
| Elena | soprano | Giuseppina Ronzi de Begnis |
| Imberga, Boemondo's daughter | soprano | Emilia Gandaglia |
| Ubaldo, Guido's friend; in love with Elena | tenor | Adolphe Nourrit |
| Boemondo, Minister of ruler Ezzelino | tenor | Anafesto Rossi |
| Guido, also in love with Elena | baritone | Paul Barroilhet |
| Sigifredo, Elena's father; a fugitive | bass | Pietro Gianni |
| Gualtiero, Sigifredo's servant | bass | Michele Benedetti |
| Knights, Ladies, Soldiers | ||
Source: [7]
Scene 1: Ubaldo's house
Ubaldo's entourage cannot understand why he is so melancholic They leave when his friend Guido enters. Guido asks Ubaldo to help him: Boemondo (Ezzelino's henchman) wishes him to marry his daughter Imberga, but his heart belongs to another. Ubaldo points out that, if Guido defies Boemondo, his chances of regaining the position once held by his ancestors will be ruined. Guido, nevertheless, is prepared to renounce everything for love. He reveals that his lover is Elena, daughter of the outlawed Sigifredo, and that he plans to secretly leave the town with her. Ubaldo is aghast, as he realises why Elena has rejected his own declaration of love, but he conceals his agitation and agrees to help Guido, notwithstanding the likely rage of Ezzelino. Left alone, Ubaldo first considers betraying Guido to Ezzelino, but then resolves to abduct Elena instead.
Scene 2: Sigifredo's palace
Elena is overjoyed to hear that her father has escaped to nearby Belluno and excited at the prospect of marriage with Guido. Her servant Gualtiero tells her that a pilgrim who is approaching the palace is her father in disguise. Sigifredo and Elena embrace, and he tells her that Belluno has fallen to Ezzelino but that he has escaped so that he can die in his home town. He hides as Ubaldo enters to tell Elena that he and his men are about to carry her off. Sigifredo emerges to protect Elena, but Ubaldo's followers appear and drag Sigifredo away to prison. Ubaldo reluctantly goes with them, and Elena, left behind, falls into a faint.
The town hall
Boemondo tells Ubaldo that Sigifredo is now held in a secret location. Elena arrives. Boemondo says that Ubaldo will explain what she must do to save her father's life, and leaves. Ubaldo informs Elena that, if Sigifredo is not to be executed, Guido must marry Imberga, and she (Elena) must marry him. Ubaldo tells her that he loves her, but, when she repulses him, he reveals that a scaffold for her father's death is being built and that Sigifredo will die very soon if she does not consent to the marriage. She gives in, and they leave together.
Guido is brought in under guard and left alone. His sense of foreboding is confirmed when Boemondo tells him that Elena has betrayed him, and that this will be confirmed before long. Guido is distraught and longs for death.
Boemondo's adherents arrive to celebrate the fall of Belluno to Ezzelino. Boemondo announces that he will show mercy to his enemy Sigifredo's daughter if she will name someone as her protector. Guido and Ubaldo await her decision with trepidation. Provoked by Boemondo, she reluctantly names Ubaldo. The Act ends with Guido accusing her of treachery and asking Imberga to marry him, Ubaldo expressing his love for Elena, Boemondo and Imberga gloating, and Elena lamenting her fate.
Scene 1: Sigifredo's palace
Elena prays to her dead mother to allow her to die. Guido confronts her, but he is still not entirely convinced that she acted out of free will. Elena is about to explain everything when the bell for the execution of Sigifredo rings, and she re-asserts that she loves Ubaldo. Furious, Guido leaves as Elena again prays for death.
Scene 2: Ubaldo's house
Ubaldo has returned empty-handed from his mission to release Sigifredo from prison. He is upset that Boemondo has double-crossed Elena: Sigifredo had already been executed. He knows that he has lost Elena for ever, and he and his followers swear to abandon Boemondo and return to the Guelph cause.
Scene 3: Sigifredo's palace
Elena waits with Gualtiero for the overdue arrival of Ubaldo and Sigifredo. She sends Gualtiero to find out what has happened. The wedding procession for Guido and Imberga can be heard offstage, and Elena prays for Guido's happiness and her own death. Ubaldo and his men arrive as the offstage music becomes more joyous, and then Gualtiero returns with the news of Sigismondo's death. Elena has a vision of Sigifredo waiting for her in heaven and dies. Ubaldo laments her loss, and the chorus comment that an angel missing from heaven has now returned there.
| Year | Cast (Elena, Imberga, Ubaldo, Boemondo, Guido) | Conductor, Opera House and Orchestra | Label [8] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970? | Orianna Santunione, Licia Falcone, Angelo Mori, Vito Tatone, Guido Guarnera | Armando Gatto Orchestra Scarlatti di Napoli and the RAI Napoli Chorus | Audio CD: Voce Cat: 121 |
| 1997 | Monica Colonna, Elena Rossi, Cesare Catani, Luigi Petroni, Nicola Ulivieri | Maurizio Benini, National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland and Wexford Festival Opera Chorus (Recorded at performances at the Wexford Festival, October) | Audio CD: Marco Polo Cat: 8.225064-65 |
Giuseppe Saverio Raffaele Mercadante was an Italian composer, particularly of operas. While Mercadante may not have retained the international celebrity of Gaetano Donizetti or Gioachino Rossini beyond his own lifetime, he composed as prolifically as either and his development of operatic structures, melodic styles and orchestration contributed significantly to the foundations upon which Giuseppe Verdi built his dramatic technique.
Giuseppe Felice Romani was an Italian poet and scholar of literature and mythology who wrote many librettos for the opera composers Donizetti and Bellini. Romani was considered the finest Italian librettist between Metastasio and Boito.
Salvadore Cammarano was a prolific Italian librettist and playwright perhaps best known for writing the text of Lucia di Lammermoor (1835) for Gaetano Donizetti.
Il giuramento is an opera in three acts by Italian composer Saverio Mercadante. The libretto, by Gaetano Rossi, is based on Victor Hugo's 1835 play Angelo, Tyrant of Padua..
Carlo Baucardé or Boucardé (1825–1883) was an Italian operatic tenor who sang leading roles throughout Italy, as well as in London, Madrid, Paris, and New York. He is most remembered today for creating the role of Manrico in Verdi's opera Il trovatore and the title role in Donizetti's Poliuto.
Eugenia Tadolini was an Italian operatic soprano. Admired for the beauty of her voice and stage presence, she was one of Donizetti's favourite singers. During her career she created over 20 leading roles, including the title roles in Donizetti's Linda di Chamounix and Maria di Rohan and Verdi's Alzira. She was born in Forlì and studied music there and in Bologna before making her debut in Florence in 1828. She sang in all of Italy's leading opera houses, as well as in Paris, Vienna, and London before retiring from the stage in 1852. She spent her remaining years first in Naples, where she had been the Teatro San Carlo's reigning prima donna for many years, and then in Paris, where she died of typhoid fever at the age of 63. From 1827 to 1834, she was married to the Italian composer and singing teacher, Giovanni Tadolini.
Marco Arati was an Italian operatic bass active during the 1840s through the 1880s. Although he occasionally appeared at other opera houses in Italy, he was primarily committed to the Teatro di San Carlo where he sang roles for more than four decades. Even though he was one of the preeminent singers of his day, there is little known about his life.
Raffaele Mirate was a celebrated Italian operatic tenor who had an active career from the 1830s through the 1860s. Known for his intelligent phrasing and bright and powerful vocal timbre, he was regarded as an outstanding interpreter of the tenor roles in the early and middle period operas of Giuseppe Verdi. He notably created the role of the Duke of Mantua in the world premiere of Verdi's Rigoletto in 1851. He was also a highly regarded interpreter of bel canto roles, excelling in the operas of Vincenzo Bellini, Gaetano Donizetti, and Gioachino Rossini.
Carlo Guasco was a celebrated Italian operatic tenor who sang in Italian and other European opera houses from 1837 to 1853. Although he sang in many world premieres, he is most remembered today for having created the leading tenor roles in Verdi's I Lombardi alla prima crociata, Ernani, and Attila.
Paul-Bernard Barroilhet was a French operatic baritone.
Ignazio Marini was a celebrated Italian operatic bass. He sang in the world premieres of several operas by Gaetano Donizetti, Saverio Mercadante, and Giuseppe Verdi and appeared as a guest artist in major opera houses throughout Europe and in New York City, Mexico City and Cairo.
Gaetano Fraschini was an Italian tenor. He created many roles in 19th century operas, including five composed by Giuseppe Verdi. His voice was "heroic ... with a baritonal quality, ... yet Verdi and Donizetti appreciated his ability to sing softly and with subtlety." An Italian biographer has pointed out Fraschini's role in extending the longevity of Donizetti's operas, while at the same time accelerating the ascent of Verdi's repertory. He was indeed the most prominent singer who facilitated the transition from Donizetti to Verdi. Fraschini sang over one hundred roles and Verdi placed him at the top of his favorite tenors' list and described him as a "natural Manrico" for his Il trovatore. Fraschini also played a pivotal role in the success of many operas by Pacini and Mercadante.
Marietta Sacchi was an Italian operatic soprano who had an active career during the 1820s and 1830s.
Raffaele Ferlotti was an Italian operatic baritone who had an active international career from the 1830s through the 1860s. He was a regular performer in Italy's leading opera houses, especially La Scala, and created roles in several world premieres. On the international stage he performed in operas in Austria, England, France, and Spain.
Eugenio Cavallini was an Italian conductor, composer, violinist, and violist. In 1833 he became first violinist of the orchestra at La Scala, a post he held through 1855. He also served as a conductor at La Scala, notably leading the world premieres of Gaetano Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia (1833), Donizetti's Gemma di Vergy (1834), Donizetti's Maria Stuarda (1835), Saverio Mercadante's Il giuramento (1837), Mercadante's Il bravo (1839), Giuseppe Verdi's Oberto (1839), Verdi's Un giorno di regno (1840), Donizetti's Maria Padilla (1841), Verdi's Nabucco (1842), Verdi's I Lombardi alla prima crociata (1843), Verdi's Giovanna d'Arco (1845), Federico Ricci's Estella di Murcia (1846), and Domenico Ronzani's Salvator Rosa (1854).
Nicolas-Prosper Dérivis was a French operatic bass. He possessed a rich deep voice that had a great carrying power. While he could easily assail heavy dramatic roles, he was also capable of executing difficult coloratura passages and performing more lyrical parts. Along with Nicolas Levasseur, he was one of the greatest French basses of his generation.
Erminia Frezzolini was an Italian operatic soprano. She excelled in the coloratura soprano repertoire, drawing particular acclaim in the bel canto operas of Gaetano Donizetti and Vincenzo Bellini. She was married to tenor Antonio Poggi from 1841 to 1846.
Giacomo Roppa was an Italian operatic tenor who was active career in Italy's most important opera houses from the 1830s through the 1850s. He also made appearances at the Liceu in Spain. He is best remembered for creating the role of Jacopo Foscari in the world premiere of Giuseppe Verdi's I due Foscari in 1844.
Adelaide Borghi-Mamo was an Italian operatic mezzo-soprano who had an active international career from the 1840s through the 1880s. She was married to tenor Michele Mamo and their daughter, soprano Erminia Borghi-Mamo, also had a successful singing career.
Maria Teresa Rebecca Brambilla better known as Marietta Brambilla was an Italian contralto who sang leading roles in the opera houses of Europe from 1827 until her retirement from the stage in 1848. She is best known today for having created the roles of Maffio Orsini in Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia and Pierotto in his Linda di Chamounix, but she also created several other roles in lesser-known works. She was the elder sister of the opera singers Teresa and Giuseppina Brambilla and the aunt of Teresina Brambilla who was also an opera singer.
Notes
Sources