Le due duchesse, ossia La caccia dei lupi is an 1814 opera in 2 acts, a dramma semiserio per musica, by Johann Simon Mayr to a libretto by Felice Romani after Edgar ou La chasse aux loups by Louis-Charles Caigniez premiered 7 November 1814 Milan, Teatro alla Scala. The plot is based on a French melodrama set in Saxon England during the reign of King Edgar the Peaceful. [1]
Eadwig was King of England from 23 November 955 until his death in 959. He was the elder son of Edmund I and his first wife Ælfgifu, who died in 944. Eadwig and his brother Edgar were young children when their father was killed trying to rescue his seneschal from attack by an outlawed thief on 26 May 946. As Edmund's sons were too young to rule he was succeeded by his brother Eadred, who suffered from ill health and died unmarried in his early 30s.
Edward, often called the Martyr, was King of the English from 975 until he was murdered in 978. Edward was the eldest son of King Edgar, but was not his father's acknowledged heir. On Edgar's death, the leadership of England was contested, with some supporting Edward's claim to be king and others supporting his younger half-brother Æthelred the Unready, recognised as a legitimate son of Edgar. Edward was chosen as king and was crowned by his main clerical supporters, the archbishops Dunstan of Canterbury and Oswald of York.
Edgar, known as the Peaceful or the Peaceable, was King of the English from 959 until his death in 975. The younger son of King Edmund I and Ælfgifu of Shaftesbury, he came to the throne as a teenager following the death of his older brother, King Eadwig. As king, Edgar further consolidated the political unity achieved by his predecessors, with his reign being noted for its relative stability. His most trusted advisor was Dunstan, whom he recalled from exile and made Archbishop of Canterbury. The pinnacle of Edgar's reign was his coronation at Bath in 973, which was organised by Dunstan and forms the basis for the current coronation ceremony. After his death he was succeeded by his son Edward, although the succession was disputed.
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.
Eadgifu of Kent was the third wife of Edward the Elder, King of Wessex.
The Sermo Lupi ad Anglos is the title given to a homily composed in England between 1010-1016 by Wulfstan II, Archbishop of York, who commonly styled himself Lupus, or 'wolf' after the first element in his name [wulf-stan = 'wolf-stone']. Though the title is Latin, the work itself is written in Old English. The Sermo Lupi is Wulfstan's most well-known work. In it, he blames a lack of moral discipline amongst his fellow English as the source of God's anger against the English, which has taken the shape of thirty years of Viking raids against England. Wulfstan exhorts the English to behave in a manner more pleasing to God, and specifically to live according to the laws of the Church and of the king. The Sermo Lupi is noted for its rhetorical achievements, and is considered to represent the height of Wulfstan's skill as a homilist and rhetor. The text of the Sermo Lupi has been critically edited many times, most recently by Dorothy Bethurum. The work contains one of several mentions of Old English wælcyrian, a term cognate to the Old Norse valkyrjur—valkyries.
An éclair is a pastry made with choux dough filled with a cream and topped with a flavored icing. The dough, which is the same as that used for profiterole, is typically piped into an oblong shape with a pastry bag and baked until it is crisp and hollow inside. Once cool, the pastry is filled with custard, whipped cream or chiboust cream, then iced with fondant icing. Other fillings include pistachio- and rum-flavoured custard, fruit-flavoured fillings, or chestnut purée. The icing is sometimes caramel, in which case the dessert may be called a bâton de Jacob. A similar pastry in a round rather than oblong shape is called a Religieuse.
Michele Enrico Francesco Vincenzo Aloisio Paolo Carafa di Colobrano was an Italian opera composer. He was born in Naples and studied in Paris with Luigi Cherubini. He was Professor of counterpoint at the Paris Conservatoire from 1840 to 1858. One of his notable pupils was Achille Peri.
Count Nicolò Gabrielli di Quercita was an Italian opera composer.
Æthelwine was ealdorman of East Anglia and one of the leading noblemen in the kingdom of England in the later 10th century. As with his kinsmen, the principal source for his life is Byrhtferth's life of Oswald of Worcester. Æthelwine founded Ramsey Abbey in 969, and Byrhtferth and Ramsey Abbey remembered him as Dei amicus, but the monks of nearby Ely saw him as an enemy who had seized their lands.
Giovanni Bertati was an Italian librettist.
Vincenzo Pucitta was a nineteenth-century Italian composer. Born in Civitavecchia, he wrote more than 20 operas during his career. One of his works, La Vestale, after its premiere in London (1810), was also sung in Lisbon (1816), Milan (1816) and Rio de Janeiro (1817). He died in Milan.
Stefano Pavesi was an Italian composer. He is primarily known as a prolific opera composer; his breakthrough opera was Fingallo e Comala, and his acknowledged opera masterpiece is Ser Marcantonio. He also served as the maestro di cappella of Crema Cathedral from 1814 to 1818, and alone from 1818 until his death at the age of 71.
Antony Béraud, real name Antoine-Nicolas Béraud, was a French military, chansonnier, writer, poet, historian and playwright.
Louis-Charles Caigniez was a 19th-century French playwright.
The Dame du Palais, originally only Dame, was an historical office in the Royal Court of France. It was a title of a lady-in-waiting holding the official position of personal attendant on a female member of the French Royal Family. The position was traditionally held by a female member of a noble family. They were ranked between the Première dame d'honneur and the Fille d'honneur. They had previously been styled 'Dames'.
Paris-Deauville is a 1934 French comedy film directed by Jean Delannoy and starring Marguerite Moreno, Monique Rolland and Germaine Sablon.
Le due duchesse or La caccia dei lupi is a semiseria opera in two acts by Johann Simon Mayr to a libetto by Felice Romani which was premiered 7 November 1814 at La Scala in Milan and revived in 1819 at the Teatro San Carlo, Naples. Romani used his libretto again with a few changes for a new setting by Filippo Celli (1782–1856) for Florence on 8 September 1824.
The Affair of the Poisons is a 1955 French-Italian historical drama film directed by Henri Decoin and starring Danielle Darrieux, Viviane Romance and Paul Meurisse. The film is adapted from the 1907 play of the same title by Victorien Sardou. It was shot in Technicolor at the Boulogne Studios in Paris. The film's sets were designed by the art director Jean d'Eaubonne. The film is set against the backdrop of the real Affair of the Poisons in seventeenth century France, and demonstrates a darker tone than many more nostalgic depictions of the past.