First opera title at the Donizetti Theater on Nov. 17 and 25 and Dec. 3, will be The Universal Deluge (Naples, 1830) tragic-sacred action scheduled following the new critical edition edited by Edoardo Cavalli perla Fondazione Teatro Donizetti. The direction will be by Riccardo Frizza, the show will be signed by Masbedo, an artistic duo formed by Nicolò Massazza and Iacopo Bedogni, known for the creativity of their multidisciplinary productions between theater, art, video, cinema. This new production, in collaboration with Bergamo’s GAMEC, is linked to the initiatives of the “Bergamo Brescia Capitale della Cultura” program because the subject matter allows for a reflection on the climatic upheavals of our time.
A fundamental title of Donizetti’s Neapolitan period, the opera belongs to the so-called “Lenten” sub-genre, to which, for example, a decade earlier Rossini had contributed with Mosè in Egitto: biblical topics, suitable for the Lenten season, and yet made less severe by adding some profane plot. Compared to Rossini, Donizetti focuses less on the choral dimension, preferring the affairs of Individuals to those of Peoples.

For the #donizetti200 cycle, with which the festival presents a Donizetti title that turns two centuries old, it will be the turn of the heroic drama Alfredo the Great (Naples, 1823) at the Donizetti Theater on Nov. 19 and 24, with a new edition checked on the opera’s sources, again edited by Edoardo Cavalli. It is part of that group of operas in which Donizetti experimented and refined his compositional means by measuring them against various operatic genres. Alfredo follows less than a year after the staging of Chiara e Serafina, but it is oriented on a subject of a historical nature (from Chiara e Serafina, however, a section of Finale I will migrate into Alfredo il Grande ).
The libretto is by Andrea Leone Tottola, already Rossini’s ‘theatrical poet’ (also for Mosé in Egitto). Alfredo il Grande will be presented in semi-staged form, with direction by Stefano Simone Pintor; the conductor will be Corrado Rovaris from Bergamo, a recurring musician in the festival’s programming.

Third title, at the Social Theater on Nov. 18 and 26 and then on Dec. 1, Lucie de Lammermoor which debuted at the Théâtre de la Renaissance in Paris in 1839 and was received with such acclaim that it offered Donizetti a commission for two new operas for that theater, the first of which was to be L’Ange de Nisida. For the French translation of Lucia di Lammermoor – then already famous in Paris – Donizetti intervened on the pre-existing score by altering the recitatives, excluding Alisa’s secondary character, eliminating Raimondo’s aria “Ah! Cedi, cedi, o più sciagure” in Act II as well as his interventions in Enrico’s cavatina “Cruda, funesta smania” in Act I, and postponing one scene. He also replaced Lucia’s cavatina, “Regnava nel silenzio,” with “Que n’avons nous desailes,” a translation of “Perché non ho del vento,” from his Rosmonda d’Inghilterra (1834). The writing of Lucie ‘s libretto was entrusted to Alphonse Royer and Gustave Vaëz, who only in a few passages deviated from a literal translation of Cammarano’s Italian text, presumably with the intention of making it more suitable for French stages. The opera will be staged by Jacopo Spirei, pupil and assistant of the late Graham Vick and today one of the most sought-after Italian opera directors; on the podium is the young Frenchman Pierre Dumoussaud in his Italian debut, after several successes and awards at competitions and recordings.

Fifth performance of the festival The Little Composer of Music., Saturday, Dec. 2, at the Donizetti Theater. Scenic action in two acts by Giovanni Simone Mayr was staged on September 13, 1811 as the final essay in the Charitable Lessons. As with other essays, Mayr adopts the model of the eighteenth-century metamelodrama, in which a singing company is represented in the act of putting on a show, and he stages the students of the Charitable Lessons themselves-including the young Gaetano-who play themselves as they grapple with the staging of the final essay. In Piccolo compositore di musica, Donizetti serves as the protagonist, ironically presented as a young aspiring composer convinced of his own talent (famous are the lines, “Vasta ho la mente, rapido l’ingegno | pronta la fantasia, e nel comporre | un fulmine son io”). Despite the comic tone, the promotional intent of Mayr, who truly believes in the abilities of his young pupil, appears clear. Donizetti is joined by four companions of the Charitable Lessons, as themselves: Antonio Dolci, Giuseppe Manghenoni, Giuseppe Pontiroli, and Antonio Tavecchi. Musically, the opera alternates between original sections (such as the Introduction) and pre-existing excerpts from works also by other famous contemporary composers. The staging will be supervised by Francesco Micheli with students from the Bottega Donizetti as part of a project involving several Bergamo educational institutions.

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