La zingara
Music by Gaetano Donizetti · libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola · premiered 1822 · at Teatro Nuovo
La zingara (The Gypsy Girl) is an opera semiseria in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti, set to a libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola after La petite bohémienne (The Little Gypsy) by Louis-Charles Caigniez, which was itself derived from a work of August von Kotzebue. It was Donizetti's first opera written for Naples, and the first performance of this "rescue opera" took place at the Teatro Nuovo on 12 May 1822. One critic reviewing the 2001 recording from the Festival della Valle d'Itria, made the following observations:
Despite its moronic libretto, the opera was an enormous success at its premiere in Naples in 1822, and even Bellini wrote nice things about the second-act septet in which Donizetti mixes buffo and serious characters, as well as Neapolitan dialect (there are no recitatives; numbers are separated by spoken dialogue) with "pure" Italian, and the absurd plot is (sort of) held together by the clever Argilla, who under the guise of telling fortunes gains entry to people's feelings as well as to every area of the castle. Is it a masterpiece? Even close? No, but there are niceties galore—rhythmic arias and ensembles, good (if typical) characterizations, and good tunes. Its American premiere was produced by Amore Opera in New York City in 2017.
Text from the Wikipedia article "La zingara", licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
About the Composer
Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian composer, best known for his over 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the bel canto opera style during the first half of the nineteenth century and a probable influence on other composers such as Giuseppe Verdi. Donizetti was born in Bergamo in Lombardy. At an early age he was taken up by Simon Mayr who enrolled him with a full scholarship in a school which he had set up. There he received detailed musical training. Mayr was instrumental in obtaining a place for Donizetti at the Bologna Academy, where, at the age of 19, he wrote his first one-act opera,…
Text from the Wikipedia article "Gaetano Donizetti", licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Other Operas by Gaetano Donizetti
- Alina, regina di Golconda (1766)
- Betly (1779)
- Il diluvio universale (1788)
- Il Pigmalione (1790)
- Alahor in Granata (1793)
- Don Pasquale (1810)
- Alfredo il grande (1818)
- Enrico di Borgogna (1818)