Elena also known as Elena e Costantino is an 1814 opera semiseria by Johann Simon Mayr to a libretto by Leone Tottola. The opera premiered in Naples in 1814 and was later adjusted for La Scala in 1816 where Meyerbeer may have heard it using the same plot in Emma di Resburgo.[1] Goethe and Zelter's correspondence makes mention of the sextet in Act 2, as reported by Stendhal.[2]
Recordings
edit- Elena Julia Sophie Wagner, Daniel Ochoa, Mira Graczyk, Niklas Mallmann, Markus Schäfer, Simon Mayr Chorus, Concerto de Bassus, Franz Hauk Naxos 2021
References
edit- ^ The Meyerbeer Libretti: Italian operas 2 - Page xii 2009 · Snippet view "Mayr set this plot as Elena as recently as 1814 as an opera - semiseria , re - adapted for La Scala in the autumn of 1816 where Meyerbeer may well have heard it .
- ^ Lorraine Byrne Bodley Goethe and Zelter: Musical Dialogues 2017 p 238 "In Act Two of Elena, an opera by old Mayr of Bergamo,251 there is said to be a very effective sextet; it is said to be based on a popular Bohemian melody...