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Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
 composer from Bergamo
Bergamo

Bergamo is a town in Lombardy, Italy, about 40km northeast of Milan. The commune is home to circa 117,000 inhabitants. It is served by the Orio al Serio Airport, which also serves the Province of Bergamo, and to a lesser extent Milan....
, Lombardy
Lombardy

Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region....
. Donizetti's most famous work is Lucia di Lammermoor
Lucia di Lammermoor

Lucia di Lammermoor is a dramma tragico in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvatore Cammarano wrote the Italian language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's historical novel The Bride of Lammermoor....
 (1835), and arguably his most immediately recognizable piece of music is the aria
Aria

An aria in music was originally any expressive melody, usually, but not always, performed by a singer. The term is now used almost exclusively to describe a self-contained piece for one voice usually with orchestral accompaniment....
 "Una furtiva lagrima
Una furtiva lagrima

Una furtiva lagrima is the romanza taken from Act II, Scene 2 of the Italian opera, L'elisir d'amore by Gaetano Donizetti. It is sung by Nemorino when he finds that the love potion he bought to win his dream lady?s heart, Adina, works....
" from L'elisir d'amore
L'elisir d'amore

L'elisir d'amore is a melodramma giocoso in two acts by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Felice Romani wrote the Italian language libretto after Eug?ne Scribe's libretto for Daniel-Fran?ois-Esprit Auber's Le philtre ....
 (1832).






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Donizetti in Colore
Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
 composer from Bergamo
Bergamo

Bergamo is a town in Lombardy, Italy, about 40km northeast of Milan. The commune is home to circa 117,000 inhabitants. It is served by the Orio al Serio Airport, which also serves the Province of Bergamo, and to a lesser extent Milan....
, Lombardy
Lombardy

Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region....
. Donizetti's most famous work is Lucia di Lammermoor
Lucia di Lammermoor

Lucia di Lammermoor is a dramma tragico in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvatore Cammarano wrote the Italian language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's historical novel The Bride of Lammermoor....
 (1835), and arguably his most immediately recognizable piece of music is the aria
Aria

An aria in music was originally any expressive melody, usually, but not always, performed by a singer. The term is now used almost exclusively to describe a self-contained piece for one voice usually with orchestral accompaniment....
 "Una furtiva lagrima
Una furtiva lagrima

Una furtiva lagrima is the romanza taken from Act II, Scene 2 of the Italian opera, L'elisir d'amore by Gaetano Donizetti. It is sung by Nemorino when he finds that the love potion he bought to win his dream lady?s heart, Adina, works....
" from L'elisir d'amore
L'elisir d'amore

L'elisir d'amore is a melodramma giocoso in two acts by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Felice Romani wrote the Italian language libretto after Eug?ne Scribe's libretto for Daniel-Fran?ois-Esprit Auber's Le philtre ....
 (1832). Along with Vincenzo Bellini
Vincenzo Bellini

Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini was an Italy opera composer. Known for his flowing melodic lines for which he was named "the Swan of Catania", Bellini was the quintessential composer of Bel canto opera....
 and Gioacchino Rossini
Gioacchino Rossini

Gioachino Antonio Rossini was a popular Italian composer who created 39 operas as well as sacred music and chamber music. His best known works include Il barbiere di Siviglia , La Cenerentola and Guillaume Tell ....
, he was a leading composer of bel canto
Bel Canto

Bel Canto may refer to:*Bel canto, a opera term that literally means "beautiful singing"*Bel Canto , a novel by Ann Patchett*Bel Canto , a Norwegian pop/electronica band...
 opera.

Life

The youngest of three sons, Donizetti was born in 1797 in Bergamo's Borgo Canale quarter located just outside the city walls. His family was very poor with no tradition of music, his father being the caretaker of the town pawnshop. Nevertheless, Donizetti received some musical instruction from Johann Simon Mayr, a priest at Bergamo's principal church (and also himself a composer of successful operas).

Donizetti was not especially successful as a choirboy, but in 1806 he was one of the first pupils to be enrolled at the Lezioni Caritatevoli school, founded by Johann Simon Mayr, in Bergamo through a full scholarship. He received detailed training in the arts of fugue
Fugue

In music, a fugue is a type of counterpoint composition or technique of composition for a fixed number of melody, normally referred to as "voices"....
 and counterpoint
Counterpoint

In music, counterpoint is the relationship between two or more Register that are independent in contour and rhythm, and interdependent in harmony....
, and it was here that he launched his operatic career. After some minor compositions under the commission of Paolo Zanca, Donizetti wrote his fourth opera, Zoraïda di Granata
Zoraida di Granata

'Zoraida di Granata' is a melodramma eroico , in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The Italian language libretto was written by Bartolomeo Merelli, based on the French play, Gonzalve de Cordoue ou Grenade Reconquise by Jean Pierre Claris de Florian , and on a libretto by Luigi Romanelli to an opera by Nicolini called Abenamet e Zor...
. This work impressed Domenico Barbaia
Domenico Barbaia

Domenico Barbaia was an Italy impresario.An energetic man, Barbaia, who was born in Milan, began his career by running a coffee shop. He made his first fortune by creating a special kind of coffee with frothing milk, probably the first "cappuccino." This drink, and a variation with hot chocolate, became so popular in Milan that the erstwh...
, a prominent theatre manager, and Donizetti was offered a contract to compose in Naples
Naples

Naples is a city in southern Italy, the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples. The city is known for its rich history, art, culture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,800 years old....
. Writing in Rome
Rome

Rome is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city, with 2,724,347 residents in an urban area of some ....
 and Milan
Milan

Milan is the second largest city of Italy, located in the plains of Lombardy. It is the capital in the Province of Milan, as well as the Regions of Italy capital of Lombardy....
 in addition to Naples, Donizetti achieved some success (his 75 operas written in the space of just 12 years were usually popular successes, but the critics were often unimpressed), but was not well known internationally until 1830, when his Anna Bolena
Anna Bolena

Anna Bolena is a tragedia lirica, or opera, in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Felice Romani wrote the Italian language libretto after Ippolito Pindemonte's Enrico VIII ossia Anna Bolena and Alessandro Pepoli's Anna Bolena, both tellings of the life of Anne Boleyn....
 was premiered in Milan. He almost instantly became famous throughout Europe. L'elisir d'amore
L'elisir d'amore

L'elisir d'amore is a melodramma giocoso in two acts by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Felice Romani wrote the Italian language libretto after Eug?ne Scribe's libretto for Daniel-Fran?ois-Esprit Auber's Le philtre ....
, a comedy produced in 1832, came soon after, and is deemed one of the masterpieces of the comic opera, as is his Don Pasquale
Don Pasquale

Don Pasquale is an opera buffa, or comic opera, in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The composer Giovanni Ruffini wrote the Italian language libretto after Angelo Anelli's libretto for Stefano Pavesi's Ser Marcantonio ....
, written in 1843. Shortly after L'elisir d'amore, Donizetti composed Lucia di Lammermoor
Lucia di Lammermoor

Lucia di Lammermoor is a dramma tragico in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvatore Cammarano wrote the Italian language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's historical novel The Bride of Lammermoor....
, based on the Sir Walter Scott novel The Bride of Lammermoor
The Bride of Lammermoor

The Bride of Lammermoor is an historical novel by Sir Walter Scott, set in Scotland in the reign of Anne of Great Britain . Along with A Legend of Montrose, it forms the third series of Scott's Tales of My Landlord; the two novels were published together in 1819....
. It became his most famous opera, and one of the high points of the bel canto
Bel Canto

Bel Canto may refer to:*Bel canto, a opera term that literally means "beautiful singing"*Bel Canto , a novel by Ann Patchett*Bel Canto , a Norwegian pop/electronica band...
 tradition, reaching stature similar to Bellini
Vincenzo Bellini

Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini was an Italy opera composer. Known for his flowing melodic lines for which he was named "the Swan of Catania", Bellini was the quintessential composer of Bel canto opera....
's Norma
Norma (opera)

Norma is a tragedia lirica or opera in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini with libretto by Felice Romani after Norma, ossia L'infanticidio by Alexandre Soumet....
.

After the success of Lucrezia Borgia
Lucrezia Borgia (opera)

Lucrezia Borgia is a melodramma, or opera, in a prologue and two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Felice Romani wrote the Italian language libretto after the play by Victor Hugo, in its turn after the legend of Lucrezia Borgia....
 (1833) consolidated his reputation, Donizetti followed the paths of both Rossini
Gioacchino Rossini

Gioachino Antonio Rossini was a popular Italian composer who created 39 operas as well as sacred music and chamber music. His best known works include Il barbiere di Siviglia , La Cenerentola and Guillaume Tell ....
 and Bellini by visiting Paris, but his opera Marino Falerio suffered by comparison with Bellini's I puritani
I puritani

I puritani is an opera in three acts, by Vincenzo Bellini. Libretto by Count Carlo Pepoli based on T?tes rondes et Cavaliers by Jacques-Fran?ois Ancelot and Joseph Xavier Saintine....
, and he returned to Naples to produce his already-mentioned masterpiece, Lucia di Lammermoor
Lucia di Lammermoor

Lucia di Lammermoor is a dramma tragico in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvatore Cammarano wrote the Italian language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's historical novel The Bride of Lammermoor....
. As Donizetti's fame grew, so did his engagements, as he was further hired to write in both France and Italy. In 1838, he moved to Paris
Paris

Paris is the Capital of France and the country's largest city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the ?le-de-France Regions of France ....
 after the Italian censor objected to the production of Poliuto (on the grounds that such a sacred subject was inappropriate for the stage); there he wrote La fille du régiment
La fille du régiment

La fille du r?giment is an op?ra comique in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Written while the composer was living in Paris, the French libretto is by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Jean-Fran?ois Bayard....
, which became another success.

Donizetti's wife, Virginia Vasselli, gave birth to three children, none of whom survived. Within a year of his parents' deaths, his wife died from cholera
Cholera

Cholera, sometimes known as Asiatic or epidemic cholera, is an infectious gastroenteritis caused by enterotoxin-producing strains of the bacterium Vibrio cholerae....
. By 1843, Donizetti exhibited symptoms of syphilis
Syphilis

Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease caused by the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum. The route of transmission of syphilis is almost always through sexual contact, although there are examples of congenital syphilis via transmission from mother to child in utero....
. After being institutionalized in 1845, he was sent to Paris, where he could be cared for. After visits from friends, including Giuseppe Verdi
Giuseppe Verdi

Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic music composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers in the 19th century....
, Donizetti was sent back to Bergamo, his hometown. After several years in the grip of insanity, he died in 1848 in the house of the noble family Scotti. After his death Donizetti was buried in the cemetery of Valtesse
Valtesse

Valtesse, located at is a borough of the city of Bergamo in the north part of the city between the hill of Citt? Alta and Maresana Hill. The population is approximately 10,000....
 but in the late 19th century his body was transferred to Bergamo's Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore near the grave of his teacher Johann Simon Mayr.

Donizetti is best known for his operatic works, but he also wrote music in a number of other forms, including some church music, a number of string quartet
String quartet

A string quartet is a musical ensemble of four string instruments — usually two violins, a viola and cello — or a piece written to be performed by such a group....
s, and some orchestral works.

He was the younger brother of Giuseppe Donizetti
Giuseppe Donizetti

Giuseppe Donizetti was, from 1828, Instructor General of the Imperial Ottoman Empire Music at the court of Sultan Mahmud II .His younger brother Gaetano Donizetti was a famous Italian opera composer....
, who had become, in 1828, Instructor General of the Imperial Ottoman
Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman Empire , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299?1923. It was Treaty of Lausanne by the Republic of Turkey, which was officially proclaimed on October 29, 1923....
 Music at the court of Sultan Mahmud II
Mahmud II

Mahmud II was the 30th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1808 until his death in 1839. He was born at Topkapi Palace, Istanbul, the son of Sultan Abdul Hamid I....
 (1808-1839).

Works

Donizetti is one of the most prolific composers. He composed about 75 operas, 16 symphonies, 19 string quartets, 193 songs, 45 duets, 3 oratorios, 28 cantatas, instrumental concertos, sonatas, and other chamber pieces.

Operas

1816–1819
  • Il Pigmalione (written 1816; premiere: 13 October 1960, Teatro Donizetti, Bergamo
    Bergamo

    Bergamo is a town in Lombardy, Italy, about 40km northeast of Milan. The commune is home to circa 117,000 inhabitants. It is served by the Orio al Serio Airport, which also serves the Province of Bergamo, and to a lesser extent Milan....
    )
  • Olimpiade (1817, incomplete, libretto by Metastasio
    Metastasio

    Pietro Antonio Domenico Trapassi, better known by his pseudonym of Metastasio, was an Italy poet and librettist, considered the most important writer of opera seria libretti....
    )
  • L'ira di Achille (1817)
  • Enrico di Borgogna
    Enrico di Borgogna

    Enrico di Borgogna is an opera eroica or "heroic" opera in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Bartolomeo Merelli wrote the Italian language libretto after Der Graf von Burgund by August von Kotzebue....
     (14 November 1818, Teatro San Luca, Venice
    Venice

    Venice is a city in northern Italy, the capital city of the Italian regions Veneto, a population of 271,251 . Together with Padua, Italy, the city is included in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area ....
    )
  • Una follia (17 December 1818, Teatro San Luca, Venice
    Venice

    Venice is a city in northern Italy, the capital city of the Italian regions Veneto, a population of 271,251 . Together with Padua, Italy, the city is included in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area ....
    ) (lost)
  • I piccioli virtuosi ambulanti (1819), opera buffa in one act
  • Pietro il Grande zar di tutte le Russie ossia Il Falegname di Livonia (26 December 1819, Teatro San Samuele, Venice
    Venice

    Venice is a city in northern Italy, the capital city of the Italian regions Veneto, a population of 271,251 . Together with Padua, Italy, the city is included in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area ....
    ),

1820–1824
  • Le nozze in villa (1820; 1821? Teatro Vecchio, Mantua
    Mantua

    Mantua is a city in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the Province of Mantua of the same name.Mantua is surrounded on three sides by artificial lakes created during the 12th century....
    )
  • Zoraida di Granata or Zoraïda di Granata (28 January 1822, Teatro Argentina
    Teatro Argentina

    The Teatro Argentina is an opera house and theatre located in the Largo di Torre Argentina, a square in Rome, Italy. It is one of the oldest theatres in Rome, and was inaugurated on January 31, 1732 with Berenice by Domenico Sarro....
    , Rome
    Rome

    Rome is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city, with 2,724,347 residents in an urban area of some ....
    , rev. 7 January 1824 at the same theatre)
  • La Zingara (12 May 1822, Teatro Nuovo, Naples
    Naples

    Naples is a city in southern Italy, the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples. The city is known for its rich history, art, culture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,800 years old....
    )
  • La lettera anonima (29 June 1822, Teatro del Fondo, Naples
    Naples

    Naples is a city in southern Italy, the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples. The city is known for its rich history, art, culture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,800 years old....
    )
  • Chiara e Serafina, ossia I pirati (26 October 1822, Teatro alla Scala, Milan
    Milan

    Milan is the second largest city of Italy, located in the plains of Lombardy. It is the capital in the Province of Milan, as well as the Regions of Italy capital of Lombardy....
    )
  • Alfredo il grande
    Alfredo il Grande

    Alfredo il grande is a melodramma serio or serious opera in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Andrea Leone Tottola wrote the Italian language, which may have been derived from Johann Simon Mayr's 1818 opera of the same name....
     (2 July 1823, Teatro San Carlo, Naples
    Naples

    Naples is a city in southern Italy, the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples. The city is known for its rich history, art, culture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,800 years old....
    )
  • Il fortunato inganno (3 September 1823, Teatro Nuovo, Naples
    Naples

    Naples is a city in southern Italy, the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples. The city is known for its rich history, art, culture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,800 years old....
    )
  • L'ajo nell'imbarazzo
    L'ajo nell'imbarazzo

    L'ajo nell'imbarazzo is a melodramma giocoso, or opera, in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The Italian language libretto was written by Jacopo Ferretti, after the Giovanni Giraud play ....
     (4 February 1824, Teatro Valle, Rome)
  • Emilia di Liverpool
    Emilia di Liverpool

    Emilia di Liverpool is a dramma semiseria, dramatic opera, in two acts with music by Gaetano Donizetti. Giuseppe Ceccherini wrote the Italian language libretto after the anonymous libretto for Vittorio Trento's Emilia di Laverpaut, itself based on Stefano Scatizzi's play of the same name....
     (L'eremitaggio di Liverpool) (28 July 1824, Teatro Nuovo, Naples)


1825–1829
  • Alahor in Granata
    Alahor in Granata

    Alahor in Granata is an opera in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti to an anonymous Italian language libretto after Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian's text Gonzalve de Cordoue , ou Granade reconquise ....
     (7 January 1826 Teatro Carolino, Palermo)
  • Don Gregorio [rev of L'ajo nell'imbarazzo] (11 June 1826, Teatro Nuovo, Naples)
  • Elvida
    Elvida

    Elvida is a melodramma or opera in one act by Gaetano Donizetti. Giovanni Schmidt wrote the Italian language libretto.It was first performed on July 6, 1826 at the Teatro San Carlo, Naples....
     (6 July 1826, Teatro San Carlo, Naples)
  • Gabriella di Vergy
    Gabriella di Vergy

    Gabriella di Vergy is an opera seria in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti , from a libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola, based on the tragedy Gabrielle de Vergy by Dormont De Belloy....
     (written: 1826; premiere: 29 November 1869, Teatro San Carlo, Naples) (Gabriella)
  • Olivo e Pasquale
    Olivo e Pasquale

    Olivo e Pasquale is a melodramma giocoso, a romantic comedy opera, in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Jacopo Ferretti wrote the Italian language libretto after Simeone Antonio Sografi's play....
     (7 January 1827 Teatro Valle, Rome)
  • Olivo e Pasquale [rev] (1 September 1827, Teatro Nuovo, Naples)
  • Otto mesi in due ore
    Otto mesi in due ore

    Otto mesi in due ore ossia Gli esiliati in Siberia is an opera in three acts by Donizetti to a libretto by Domenico Gilardoni. The opera has two later, substantially re-worked versions, ?lisabeth ou la fille de l'exil? , and Elisabetta, both of which received their first performances some 150 years after Donizetti's d...
     (13 May 1827, Teatro Nuovo, Naples) (Gli esiliati in Siberia)
  • Il borgomastro di Saardam (19 August 1827, Teatro del Fondo, Naples)
  • Le convenienze ed inconvenienze teatrali
    Le convenienze ed inconvenienze teatrali

    Le convenienze ed inconvenienze teatrali is a dramma giocoso, or opera, in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The Italian language libretto was written by Domenico Gilardoni, adapted from Antonio Simone Sografi's plays Le convenienze teatrali and Le inconvenienze teatrali ....
     , also known as Viva la mamma (21 November 1827, Teatro Nuovo, Naples)
  • L'esule di Roma, ossia Il proscritto (1 January 1828, Teatro San Carlo, Naples)
  • Emilia di Liverpool [rev] (8 March 1828, Teatro Nuovo, Naples)
  • Alina, regina di Golconda
    Alina, regina di Golconda

    Alina, regina di Golconda is an opera in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The Italian language libretto was written by Felice Romani after Michel-Jean Sedaine's French language libretto for Pierre-Alexandre Monsigny's ballet-heroique Aline, reine de Golconde , in its turn based on the novel by Stanislas de Boufflers....
     (12 May 1828, Teatro Carlo Felice, Genoa)
  • Gianni di Calais
    Gianni di Calais

    Gianni di Calais is a melodramma semiserio, a "semi-serious" opera in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti , from a libretto by Domenico Gilardoni, based on Jean de Paris by Louis-Charles Caignes....
     (2 August 1828, Teatro del Fondo, Naples)
  • Il paria (12 January 1829, Teatro San Carlo, Naples)
  • Il giovedi grasso (Il nuovo Pourceaugnac) (26 February 1829?, Teatro del Fondo, Naples)
  • Il castello di Kenilworth
    Il castello di Kenilworth

    Il castello di Kenilworth is a melodramma serio or tragic opera in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Andrea Leone Tottola wrote the Italian language libretto after Victor Hugo's play Amy Robsart and Eugene Scribe's play Leicester , in its turn after Sir Walter Scott novel Kenilworth ....
     (6 July 1829, Teatro San Carlo, Naples)
  • Alina, regina di Golconda [rev] (10 October 1829, Teatro Valle, Rome)


1830–1834
  • I pazzi per progetto (6 February 1830, Teatro San Carlo, Naples)
  • Il diluvio universale
    Il diluvio universale

    Il diluvio universale is an azione tragico-sacra, or opera, by Gaetano Donizetti. The Italian language libretto was written by Domenico Gilardoni after Lord Byron's Heaven and Earth and Padre Ringhieri's Il diluvio....
     (28 February 1830, Teatro San Carlo, Naples)
  • Imelda de' Lambertazzi
    Imelda de' Lambertazzi

    Imelda de' Lambertazzi is a melodramma tragico or tragic opera in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti from a libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola, based on the tragedy Imelda by Gabriele Sperduti....
     (5 September 1830, Teatro San Carlo, Naples)
  • Anna Bolena
    Anna Bolena

    Anna Bolena is a tragedia lirica, or opera, in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Felice Romani wrote the Italian language libretto after Ippolito Pindemonte's Enrico VIII ossia Anna Bolena and Alessandro Pepoli's Anna Bolena, both tellings of the life of Anne Boleyn....
     (26 December 1830, Teatro Carcano, Milan)
  • Le convenienze ed inconvenienze teatrali
    Le convenienze ed inconvenienze teatrali

    Le convenienze ed inconvenienze teatrali is a dramma giocoso, or opera, in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The Italian language libretto was written by Domenico Gilardoni, adapted from Antonio Simone Sografi's plays Le convenienze teatrali and Le inconvenienze teatrali ....
     [rev of Le convenienze teatrali] (20 April 1831, Teatro Canobbiana, Milan)
  • Gianni di Parigi
    Gianni di Parigi

    Gianni di Parigi is a melodramma or opera in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti from a libretto by Felice Romani, which had been previously used by Francesco Morlacchi for an opera of the same name....
     (written: 1831; premiere: 10 September 1839, Teatro alla Scala Milan)
  • Francesca di Foix
    Francesca di Foix

    Francesca di Foix is a melodramma giocoso or opera in one act by Gaetano Donizetti from a libretto by Domenico Gilardoni, based on Fran?oise de Foix by Jean-Nicolas Bouilly and Emmanuel Mercier-Dupaty....
     (30 May 1831, Teatro San Carlo, Naples)
  • La romanziera e l'uomo nero (18 June 1831, Teatro del Fondo, Naples) (libretto lost)
  • Fausta
    Fausta (opera)

    Fausta is a melodramma, or opera, in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The Italian language libretto was by Domenico Gilardoni, who died while writing it: the remainder was written by Donizetti....
     (12 January 1832, Teatro San Carlo, Naples)
  • Ugo, conte di Parigi
    Ugo, conte di Parigi

    Ugo, conte di Parigi is a tragedia lirica, or tragic opera, in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Felice Romani wrote the Italian language libretto after Hippolyte-Louis-Florent Bis's Blanche d'Aquitaine....
     (13 March 1832, Teatro alla Scala Milan)
  • L'elisir d'amore
    L'elisir d'amore

    L'elisir d'amore is a melodramma giocoso in two acts by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Felice Romani wrote the Italian language libretto after Eug?ne Scribe's libretto for Daniel-Fran?ois-Esprit Auber's Le philtre ....
     (12 May 1832, Teatro Canobbiana, Milan)
  • Sancia di Castiglia
    Sancia di Castiglia

    Sancia di Castiglia is an Italian opera seria in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti to a libretto by Pietro Salatino. It was first performed at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples, on 4 November 1832 in music#Opera conducted by Nicola Festa....
     (4 November 1832, Teatro San Carlo, Naples)
  • Il furioso all'isola di San Domingo (2 January 1833, Teatro Valle, Rome)
  • Otto mesi in due ore [rev] (1833, Livorno)
  • Parisina
    Parisina (opera)

    Parisina is a melodramma, or opera, in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Felice Romani wrote the Italian language libretto after Byron's poem Parisina ....
     (17 March 1833, Teatro della Pergola
    Teatro della Pergola

    The Teatro della Pergola is an opera house in Florence, Italy. It is located in the centre of the city on the Via della Pergola. It was built in 1656 under the direction of the architect Ferdinando Tacca and its inaugural production was the opera buffa, Il podest? di Colognole by Jacopo Melani....
    , Florence)
  • Torquato Tasso
    Torquato Tasso (opera)

    Torquato Tasso is a melodramma semiseria, or 'semi-serious' opera, in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti and based on the life of the great poet Torquato Tasso....
     (9 September 1833, Teatro Valle, Rome)
  • Lucrezia Borgia
    Lucrezia Borgia (opera)

    Lucrezia Borgia is a melodramma, or opera, in a prologue and two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Felice Romani wrote the Italian language libretto after the play by Victor Hugo, in its turn after the legend of Lucrezia Borgia....
     (26 December 1833, Teatro alla Scala Milan)
  • Il diluvio universale [rev] (17 January 1834, Teatro Carlo Felice, Genoa)
  • Rosmonda d'Inghilterra
    Rosmonda d'Inghilterra

    Rosmonda d'Inghilterra is a melodramma or opera in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The Italian language libretto was written by Felice Romani originally for Carlo Coccia's Rosmunda ....
     (27 February 1834, Teatro della Pergola, Florence)
  • Maria Stuarda [rev] (Buondelmonte) (18 October 1834, Teatro San Carlo, Naples)
  • Gemma di Vergy
    Gemma di Vergy

    'Gemma di Vergy' is a tragedia lirica or tragic opera in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti from a libretto by Emanuele Bid?ra. It is based on the tragedy Charles VII chez ses grands vassaux by Alexandre Dumas, p?re, which was already the subject of the opera The Saracen by the Russian composer C?sar Cui....
     (26 October 1834, Teatro alla Scala Milan)

1835–1839
  • Maria Stuarda
    Maria Stuarda

    Maria Stuarda is a tragic opera, tragedia lirica, in two acts, by Gaetano Donizetti, to a libretto by Giuseppe Bardari, based on Friedrich von Schiller's 1800 play Maria Stuart ....
     (30 December 1835, Teatro alla Scala Milan)
  • Marin Faliero (12 March 1835, Théâtre-Italien, Paris)
  • Lucia di Lammermoor
    Lucia di Lammermoor

    Lucia di Lammermoor is a dramma tragico in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvatore Cammarano wrote the Italian language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's historical novel The Bride of Lammermoor....
     (26 September 1835, Teatro San Carlo, Naples)
  • Belisario
    Belisario

    Belisario is a tragedia lirica, or opera, in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvatore Cammarano wrote the Italian language libretto after Luigi Marchionni's adaptation of Eduard von Schenk's play....
     (4 February 1836, Teatro La Fenice, Venice)
  • Il campanello di notte (1 June 1836, Teatro Nuovo, Naples)
  • Betly, o La capanna svizzera
    Betly

    Betly is a dramma giocoso in two acts by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. The composer wrote the Italian language libretto after Eug?ne Scribe and Anne-Honor?-Joseph Duveyrier de M?l?sville's libretto for Adolphe Adam's op?ra comique Le ch?let, in its turn based on Goethe's Singspiel Jery und B?tely ....
     (21 August 1836, Teatro Nuovo, Naples)
  • L'assedio di Calais
    L'assedio di Calais

    L'assedio di Calais is a melodramma lirico, or opera, in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvatore Cammarano wrote the Italian language libretto after Luigi Marchionni's play and, secondarily, Luigi Henry's ballet , both based on Pierre Du Belloy's play Le si?ge de Calais ....
     (19 November 1836, Teatro San Carlo, Naples)
  • Pia de' Tolomei
    Pia de' Tolomei

    Pia de' Tolomei is a tragedia lirica, or tragic opera, in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvatore Cammarano wrote the Italian language libretto after Bartolomeo Sestini's novella, in its turn after Dante's narrative poem The Divine Comedy part 2: Purgatorio#Purgatorio....
     (18 February 1837, Teatro Apollo, Venice)
  • Pia de' Tolomei [rev] (31 July, 1837, Sinigaglia)
  • Betly [rev] ((?) 29 September 1837, Teatro del Fondo, Naples)
  • Roberto Devereux
    Roberto Devereux

    Roberto Devereux is a tragedia lirica, or tragic opera, by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvatore Cammarano wrote the Italian language libretto after Jacques-Fran?ois Ancelot's tragedy Elisabeth d'Angleterre....
     (28 October 1837, Teatro San Carlo, Naples)
  • Maria de Rudenz
    Maria de Rudenz

    Maria de Rudenz is a dramma tragico, or tragic opera, in three parts by Gaetano Donizetti. The Italian language libretto was written by Salvatore Cammarano....
     (30 January 1,1838 Teatro La Fenice, Venice)
  • Gabriella di Vergy [rev] (written: 1838; August 1978 recording, London)
  • Poliuto
    Poliuto

    Poliuto is a tragedia lirica, or tragic opera, by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvatore Cammarano wrote the Italian language libretto after Pierre Corneille's play Polyeucte ....
     (written: 1838; permiere: 30 November 1848, Teatro San Carlo, Naples)
  • Pia de' Tolomei
    Pia de' Tolomei

    Pia de' Tolomei is a tragedia lirica, or tragic opera, in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvatore Cammarano wrote the Italian language libretto after Bartolomeo Sestini's novella, in its turn after Dante's narrative poem The Divine Comedy part 2: Purgatorio#Purgatorio....
     [rev 2] (30 September 1838, Teatro San Carlo, Naples)
  • Lucie de Lammermoor [rev of Lucia di Lammermoor] (6 August 1839, Théâtre de la Renaissance, Paris)
  • Le duc d'Albe
    Le duc d'Albe

    Le duc d'Albe is an opera composed by Donizetti in 1839 to a libretto by Eug?ne Scribe and Charles Duveyrier. It did not receive its first performance until 1882, more than 40 years after Donizetti's death....
     (written: 1839; premiere: 22 March 1882, Teatro Apollo, Rome) (Il duca d'Alba)


1840–1845
  • Lucrezia Borgia
    Lucrezia Borgia (opera)

    Lucrezia Borgia is a melodramma, or opera, in a prologue and two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Felice Romani wrote the Italian language libretto after the play by Victor Hugo, in its turn after the legend of Lucrezia Borgia....
     [rev] (11 January 1840, Teatro alla Scala Milan)
  • Poliuto
    Poliuto

    Poliuto is a tragedia lirica, or tragic opera, by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvatore Cammarano wrote the Italian language libretto after Pierre Corneille's play Polyeucte ....
     [rev] (Les martyrs) (10 April 1840, Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique (Paris Opéra), Paris)
  • La fille du régiment
    La fille du régiment

    La fille du r?giment is an op?ra comique in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Written while the composer was living in Paris, the French libretto is by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges and Jean-Fran?ois Bayard....
     (11 February 1840, Opéra-Comique, Paris)
  • L'ange de Nisida (1839; ?)
  • Lucrezia Borgia [rev 2] (31 October 1840, Théâtre-Italien, Paris)
  • La favorite
    La favorite

    La favorite is an opera in four acts by Gaetano Donizetti to a French libretto by Alphonse Royer and Gustave Va?z, based on the Play Le comte de Comminges by Baculard d'Arnaud....
     [rev of L'ange de Nisida] (2 December 1840, Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique, Paris)
  • Adelia
    Adelia (opera)

    Adelia, o La figlia dell?arciere is a melodramma serio, or opera, in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The Italian language libretto was written by Felice Romani and Girolamo Marini after the anonymous French play....
     (11 February 1841, Teatro Apollo, Rome)
  • Rita
    Rita (opera)

    Rita is an op?ra comique, in the form of a one act comedy, by Gaetano Donizetti. Gustavo Va?z wrote the Italian language libretto....
     (Deux hommes et une femme) (written: 1841; premiere: 7 May 1860, Opéra-Comique, Paris)
  • Maria Padilla
    Maria Padilla

    Maria Padilla is a melodramma, or opera, in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Gaetano Rossi and the composer wrote the Italian language libretto after Fran?ois Ancelot's play....
     (26 December 1841, Teatro alla Scala Milan)
  • Linda di Chamounix
    Linda di Chamounix

    Linda di Chamounix is a melodramma semiserio in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The Italian language libretto was written by Gaetano Rossi....
     (19 May 1842, Kärntnertortheater, Vienna)
  • Linda di Chamounix [rev] (17 November 1842, Théâtre-Italien, Paris)
  • Caterina Cornaro
    Caterina Cornaro (opera)

    Caterina Cornaro oss?a La Regina di Cipro is a tragedia lirica, or opera, in a prologue and two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Giacomo Sacch?ro wrote the Italian language libretto after Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges' libretto for Fromental Hal?vy's La reine de Chypre ....
     (18 January 1844, Teatro San Carlo, Naples)
  • Don Pasquale
    Don Pasquale

    Don Pasquale is an opera buffa, or comic opera, in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The composer Giovanni Ruffini wrote the Italian language libretto after Angelo Anelli's libretto for Stefano Pavesi's Ser Marcantonio ....
     (3 January 1843, Théâtre-Italien, Paris)
  • Maria di Rohan
    Maria di Rohan

    Maria di Rohan is a melodramma tragico, or tragic opera, in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The Italian language libretto was written by Salvatore Cammarano, after Lockroy and Edmond Badon's Un duel sous le cardinal de Richelieu, which had played in Paris in 1832....
     (5 June 1843, Kärntnertortheater, Vienna)
  • Dom Sébastien
    Dom Sébastien

    Dom S?bastien, Roi de Portugal is a French language grand opera in five acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The libretto was written by Eug?ne Scribe, based on Paul-Henri Foucher's play Dom S?bastian de Portugal , a historic-fiction about Sebastian of Portugal and his ill-fated 1578 expedition to Morocco....
     (13 November 1843, Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique , Paris)
  • Dom Sébastien [rev] (6 February 1845, Kärntnertortheater, Vienna)


Choral works
  • Ave Maria
  • Grande Offertorio
  • Il sospiro
  • Messa da Requiem
  • Messa di Gloria e Credo
  • Miserere (Psalm 50)

Orchestral works
  • Allegro for Strings in C major
  • L'ajo nell'imbarazzo: Sinfonia
  • Larghetto, tema e variazioni in E flat major
  • Roberto Devereux: Sinfonia
  • Sinfonia Concertante in D major (1818)
  • Sinfonia for Winds in G minor (1817)
  • Sinfonia in A major
  • Sinfonia in C major
  • Sinfonia in D major
  • Sinfonia in D minor
  • Ugo, conte di Parigi: Sinfonia

Concertos
  • Concertino for Clarinet in B flat major
  • Concertino for English Horn in G major (1816)
  • Concertino in C minor for flute and chamber orchestra (1819)
  • Concertino for Flute and Orchestra in C major
  • Concertino for Flute and Orchestra in D major
  • Concertino for Oboe in F major
  • Concertino for Violin and Cello in D minor
  • Concerto for 2 Clarinets "Maria Padilla"
  • Concerto for Violin and Cello in D minor

Chamber works
  • Andante sostenuto for Oboe and Harp in F minor
  • Introduction for Strings in D major
  • Larghetto and Allegro for Violin and Harp in G minor
  • Largo/Moderato for Cello and Piano in G minor
  • Nocturnes (4) for Winds and Strings
  • Quartet for Strings in D major
  • Quartet for Strings no 3 in C minor: 2nd movement, Adagio ma non troppo
  • Quartet for Strings no 4 in D major
  • Quartet for Strings no 5 in E minor
  • Quartet for Strings no 5 in E minor: Larghetto
  • Quartet for Strings no 6 in G minor
  • Quartet for Strings no 7 in F minor
  • Quartet for Strings no 8 in B flat major
  • Quartet for Strings no 9 in D minor
  • Quartet for Strings no 10 in G minor
  • Quartet for Strings no 11 in C major
  • Quartet for Strings no 12 in C major
  • Quartet for Strings no 13 in A major
  • Quartet for Strings no 14 in D major
  • Quartet for Strings no 15 in F major
  • Quartet for Strings no 16 in B minor
  • Quartet for Strings no 17 in D major
  • Quartet for Strings no 18 in E minor
  • Quartet for Strings no 18 in E minor: Allegro
  • Quintet for Guitar and Strings no 2 in C major
  • Solo de concert
  • Sonata for Flute and Harp
  • Sonata for Flute and Piano in C minor
  • Sonata for Oboe and Piano in F major
  • Study for Clarinet no 1 in B flat major
  • Trio for Flute, Bassoon and Piano in F major

Piano works
  • Adagio and Allegro for Piano in G major
  • Allegro for Piano in C major
  • Allegro for Piano in F minor
  • Fugue for Piano in G minor
  • Grand Waltz for Piano in A major
  • Larghetto for Piano in A minor "Una furtiva lagrima
    Una furtiva lagrima

    Una furtiva lagrima is the romanza taken from Act II, Scene 2 of the Italian opera, L'elisir d'amore by Gaetano Donizetti. It is sung by Nemorino when he finds that the love potion he bought to win his dream lady?s heart, Adina, works....
    "
  • Larghetto for Piano in C major
  • Pastorale for Piano in E major
  • Presto for Piano in F minor
  • Sinfonia for Piano in A major
  • Sinfonia for Piano no 1 in C major
  • Sinfonia for Piano no 1 in D major
  • Sinfonia for Piano no 2 in C major
  • Sinfonia for Piano no 2 in D major
  • Sonata for Piano in C major
  • Sonata for Piano in F major
  • Sonata for Piano in G major
  • Variations for Piano in E major
  • Variations for Piano in G major
  • Waltz for Piano in A major
  • Waltz for Piano in C major
  • Waltz for Piano in C major "The Invitation"


Media


Quotations

  • "Ah, by Bacchus, with this aria I shall receive universal applause. People will say to me, “Bravo maestro!”
I, in a very modest manner, shall walk about with bowed head; I’ll have rave reviews…I can become immortal…
My mind is vast, my genius swift...
And at composing, a thunderbolt am I."


  • "Donizetti, when asked which of his own operas he thought the best, spontaneously replied, 'How can I say which? A father always has a preference for a crippled child, and I have so many.'" (Louis Engel: "From Mozart to Mario", 1886)


See also

Category:Compositions by Gaetano Donizetti

Bibliography

  • William Ashbrook: Donizetti and his Operas, Cambridge:Cambridge University Press 1982. Ashbrook also wrote an earlier life entitled Donizetti in 1965.
  • Stanley Sadie
    Stanley Sadie

    Stanley Sadie Order of the British Empire was a leading United Kingdom musicology, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians , which was published as the first edition of the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians....
     (ed.), The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Volume 7, London: Macmillan Publishers Ltd., 2001, pp.761-796. The 1980 edition article, by William Ashbrook and Julian Budden
    Julian Budden

    Julian Medforth Budden was a British opera scholar, radio producer and broadcaster. He is particularly known for his three volume on the operas of Verdi , and a single volume biography in 1982; followed by a single volume work on Puccini in 2002....
    , was also reprinted in The New Grove Masters of Italian Opera, London: Papermac, 1984, pp. 93-154.
  • Stanley Sadie (ed.), The New Grove Dictionary of Opera
    New Grove Dictionary of Opera

    The New Grove Dictionary of Opera is an encyclopedia of opera, considered to be one of the best general reference sources on the subject. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5448 pages in four volumes....
    , Volume 1, London: Macmillan Publishers Ltd., 1997, pp.1201-1221.
  • Egidio Saracino (ed), Tutti I libretti di Donizetti, Garzanti Editore, 1993.
  • Herbert Weinstock, Donizetti, London: Metheun & Co., Ltd., 1964. (UK publication date).
  • , Donizetti, Milano: Fratelli Treves Editori, 1930
  • Guido Zavadini, Donizetti: Vita - Musiche- Epistolario, Bergamo, 1948
  • John Stewart Allitt, Gaetano Donizetti – Pensiero, musica, opere scelte, Milano: Edizione Villadiseriane, 2003
  • John Stewart Allitt, Donizetti – in the light of romanticism and the teaching of Johann Simon Mayr, Shaftesbury, Dorset, UK: Element Books, 1991. Also see Allitt's website http://www.johnstewartallitt.com/
  • Annalisa Bini & Jeremy Commons, Le prime rappresentazioni delle opere di Donizetti nella stampa coeva, Milan: Skira, 1997
  • John Black, Donizetti's Operas in Naples 1822-1848, London: The Donizetti Society, 1982
  • James P. Cassaro, Gaetano Donizetti - A Guide to Research, New York: Garland Publishing. 2000
  • Leopold M Kantner, ed., Donizetti in Wien, papers from a symposium in various languages (ISBN 3-7069-0006-8 / ISSN 156,00-8921). Published by Primo Ottocento, available from Edition Praesens.
  • Philip Gossett, "Anna Bolena" and the Artistic Maturity of Gaetano Donizetti, Oxford
    Oxford

    Oxford is a City status in the United Kingdom, and the county town of Oxfordshire, in South East England. It has a population of 151,000. The rivers River Cherwell and River Thames run through Oxford and meet south of the city centre....
    : Oxford University Press
    Oxford University Press

    Oxford University Press is a publisher and a department of the University of Oxford in England. It is the largest university press in the world, being larger than all the American university presses combined with Cambridge University Press....
    , 1985
  • Egidio Saracino Ed., Tutti i libretti di Donizetti, Milan: Garzanti, 1993


External links

  • , from the Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project
    Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project

    The Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project is a free digital collection maintained by the University of California, Santa Barbara Libraries with streaming and downloadable versions of over 6,000 phonograph cylinders manufactured between 1895 and the mid 1920s....
     at the University of California, Santa Barbara
    University of California, Santa Barbara

    The University of California, Santa Barbara, commonly known as UCSB or UC Santa Barbara, is a public university research university and one of the 10 general campuses of the University of California system....
     Library.
  • : text, concordances and frequency lists
  • Free MP3 Recording - Creative Commons License
  • (Italian) on