Ginevra di Scozia is an opera in two acts by Simon Mayr set to an Italian libretto by Gaetano Rossi based on Antonio Salvi's Ginevra, principessa di Scozia, which in turn was adapted from cantos 5 and 6 of Ludovico Ariosto's Orlando Furioso. Ginevra di Scozia premiered on 21 April 1801 at the Regio Teatro Nuovo in Trieste to celebrate the inauguration of the new theatre. The story is virtually identical to that of Handel's Ariodante which shares the same source for the libretto.
Roles
edit| Role | Voice type | Premiere cast[1] 21 April 1801 |
|---|---|---|
| Ginevra, daughter of the King of Scotland | soprano | Teresa Bertinotti |
| Ariodante, an Italian soldier prince, betrothed to Ginevra | soprano castrato | Luigi Marchesi |
| Polinesso, Duke of Albany, Ariodante's rival | tenor | Giacomo David |
| Dalinda, attendant on Ginevra, secretly in love with Polinesso | soprano | Angiola Pirovani-Bianchi |
| Re di Scozia, King of Scotland | bass | |
| Lurcanio, Ariodante's brother | tenor | Gaetano Bianchi |
| Vafrino, Ariodante's squire | tenor | Pietro Righi |
| Gran Solitario, a hermit | bass |
Recordings
edit- Mayr: Ginevra di Scozia – Live recording to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the opera's premiere. Tiziano Severini conducts the orchestra and chorus of the Teatro Lirico "Giuseppe Verdi", with Elizabeth Vidal as Ginevra and Daniela Barcellona as Ariodante. Label: Opera Rara ORC 23
- Mayr: Ginevra di Scozia – Live recording. George Petrou, conductor, Münchner Rundfunkorchester with Myrtò Papatanasiu, Anna Bonitatibus, Mario Zeffiri. Label : Oehms Classics OC 960[2]
References
editNotes
- ^ Casaglia, Gherardo (2005). "Ginevra di Scozia, 21 April 1801". L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia (in Italian).
- ^ Petrou recording, Naxos Records
Further reading
edit- Jellinek, George (January 2004). "Ginevra di Scozia (review)". The Opera Quarterly. 20 (1): 136–138. doi:10.1093/oq/kbh018.
External links
edit- Ginevra di Scozia: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- Libretto (in Italian)
