Gaetano Donizetti was born in Bergamo, Italy, on November 29, 1797. His
early music study took place in Bergamo and Naples and was completed at
the Liceo Filarmonico in Bologna. Despite his strong bent not only for
music but also for art, literature, and architecture, he aspired for a
military career. While serving in the Austrian army he completed his
first opera, _Enrico di Borgogna_, introduced in Venice in 1818. Success
came four years after that in Rome with _Zoraide di Granata_. Now
exempted from further military duty, Donizetti was able to devote
himself entirely to composition. Between 1822 and 1829 he wrote
twenty-three operas. In 1830 he achieved renown throughout Europe with
_Anna Bolena_, introduced in Milan. In the five succeeding years he
produced two masterworks by which he is still represented in the
operatic repertory: _L’Elisir d’amore_ in 1832 and _Lucia di Lammermoor_
in 1835. From 1837 to 1839 he was the director of the Naples
Conservatory. In 1839 he went to live in Paris where he wrote and had
produced several highly successful operas including _The Daughter of the
Regiment_ and _La Favorita_ in 1840 and _Don Pasquale_ in 1843. Soon
after this he returned to his native city where he was stricken by a
mental disorder and for a time confined to an asylum. He died in Bergamo
on April 8, 1848.
The facility with which Donizetti wrote his sixty-seven operas is
apparent in the easy flow of his lovable melodies and in the spontaneity
of his aurally agreeable harmonies. He also possesses a fine theatrical
gift, and much of his best music combines delightful lyricism and
affecting emotion with dramatic force.
_The Daughter of the Regiment_ (_La Fille du régiment_, or _La figlia
del reggimento_) was first performed at the Opéra-Comique in Paris on
February 11, 1840. The French libretto by Jean François Bayard and
Vernoy de Saint-Georges was translated into Italian by the composer. The
setting is Tyrol in 1815, then being invaded by Napoleon’s troops. Marie
is the _vivandière_ (canteen manager) of the 21st Regiment of the French
army. In love with Tonio, who is suspected by the French of being a spy,
she is able to prevail on the troops to save his life. But Marie is soon
compelled to be separated from both Tonio and the French soldiers when
it is discovered that she is the long lost niece of the Countess of
Berkenfeld and must return with her aunt to her castle. The Countess
wants Marie to marry the Duke of Crackenthorp. When the French troops,
with Tonio among them, storm the Berkenfeld castle and want to reclaim
Marie, the Countess now reveals that Marie is not her niece but her
daughter and thus must obey her wishes. However, the French soldiers
finally prevail on the Countess to permit Marie to marry Tonio.
The most popular selections from this tuneful, and occasionally
martially stirring opera are: Marie’s moving tribute to her regiment
(“_Ah, chacun le sait, chacun le dit_”) and her tender farewell as she
is about to leave for Berkenfeld (“_Il faut partir, mes bons
compagnons_”) and a spirited French war song to victory (“_Rataplan_”)
all from the first act; and from the second act, Marie’s moving aria
(“_Par le rang, et l’opulence_”), the orchestral entr’acte
“_Tyrolienne_,” and the dramatic paean to France (“_Salut à la France_”)
with which the opera ends.
_Don Pasquale_ is a classic in the literature of opera buffa. It
received its première in Paris on January 3, 1843; its libretto (by the
composer and Giacomo Ruffini) is based on a libretto created by Angelo
Anelli for another opera. The central character is an old bachelor who
objected to the marriage of his young nephew with a beautiful widow,
Norina. To teach him a lesson, Norina puts on a disguise, involves the
old man in a mock marriage, and then tortures him with her shrewish
ways. Pasquale finally becomes so relieved to discover that he has
merely been the victim of an intrigue, rather than a catastrophic
marriage, that he does not hesitate any longer to give Norina and his
nephew his consent to their marriage.
In the case of _Don Pasquale_ its overture is heard far more often than
potpourris of principal sections. It opens with heavy descending chords
which lead into an opulent song for cellos, soon assumed by horns and
the woodwind. The heart of the overture is a saucy melody for strings.
The music now becomes dramatized with transitional material, but a new
gay melody is offered by the woodwind and strings. The main string
melody and the succeeding sprightly tune are recalled to finish the
overture in a gay mood.
_L’Elisir d’amore_ (_The Elixir of Love_) like _Don Pasquale_, is a
delightful comic opera, one of the most effervescent ever written. It
received its first performance in Milan on May 12, 1832. The libretto,
by Felice Romani, was based on Eugène Scribe’s _Le Philtre_. Nemorino,
in love with Adina who rejects him, purchases a love elixir from the
quack, Dr. Dulcamara. But a sudden inheritance from his uncle, which
forthwith makes Nemorino extremely popular with the girls, proves even
more potent in winning Adina’s love than the potion itself.
Orchestral selections from his gay opera include one of the best loved
tenor arias in the operatic repertory. It is “_Una furtiva lagrima_,” a
soulful song by Nemorino in the second act with which he hopes to
console Adina when he sees her jealousy suddenly aroused by the fact
that he had become the favorite of the village girls. Other familiar
episodes include a merry comic number “_Udite, Udite_” in which Dr.
Dulcamara boasts of the power of his potions, and a beautiful aria,
“_Quanto è bella_,” in which Nemorino discloses his love and longing for
Adina, both in the first act.
_Lucia di Lammermoor_ is Donizetti’s most famous grand opera, and the
title role has been favored by the world’s foremost coloratura sopranos.
The libretto, by Salvatore Cammarano, was based on the Sir Walter Scott
romance, _The Bride of Lammermoor_. The opera was first performed in
Naples on September 26, 1835. Lucia, sister of Lord Ashton, is in love
with Edgar; but in planning to have her marry the wealthy Lord Arthur
Bucklaw, Lord Ashton uses lies and wiles to convince his sister that
Edgar does not love her. On the day of the signing of the marriage
contract between Lucia and Bucklaw, Edgar invades the Lammermoor castle
and curses its family. Maddened by her grief, Lucia kills her husband
soon after the wedding, and then dies. When Edgar learns that Lucia has
loved him all the time, he commits suicide.
The favorite selections from this opera include one of the most famous
ensemble numbers in all opera, the sextet “_Chi mi frena_.” It is sung
in Act 2, Scene 2, by Lucia, Edgar, Bucklaw, Raimond, Ashton and Alisa
after Edgar had invaded the Lammermoor castle and witnessed the signing
of the marriage contract between Lucia and Bucklaw. Each of the
characters here gives voice to his or her personal reaction to this
dramatic situation: Lucia speaks of her despair at the treachery of her
brother; Edgar wonders why he does not commit an act of vengeance; Lord
Ashton is led to sympathy at his sister’s despair; Lucia’s companion,
Alisa, and Bucklaw hope that bloodshed might be averted; and Raimond, a
chaplain, invokes divine help.
Another highly popular excerpt from the opera offered in orchestral
potpourris includes Lucia’s “Mad Scene” from Act 3, Scene 2 (“_Ardon
gl’incensi_”). Dressed in a white gown, Lucia appears and mistakes her
brother for her beloved Edgar, who she believes has come to marry her.
Then she entreats those around her to place a flower on her grave and
not to weep at her death (“_Spargi d’amaro pianto_”).
Several other selections often played include Lucia’s lyrical cavatina
from Act 1, Scene 2 (“_Quando rapita in estasi_”) as she thinks of her
beloved Edgar; the love duet of Lucia and Edgar from the same scene
(“_Verrano a te sull’aure_”); and the wedding music from Act 3, Scene 1
that precedes the “Mad Scene” (“_D’immenso giubilo_”).