Torquato Tasso is a melodramma semiserio, or "semi-serious" opera, in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti and based on the life of the great poet Torquato Tasso. The Italian libretto was written by Jacopo Ferretti, who used a number of sources for his text, including works by Giovanni Rosini, Goethe, Goldoni and Lord Byron, as well as Tasso's actual poetry. It premiered on 9 September 1833 at the Teatro Valle, Rome.
| Torquato Tasso | |
|---|---|
| Opera by Gaetano Donizetti | |
 Gaetano Donizetti c. 1835 | |
| Librettist | Jacopo Ferretti |
| Language | Italian |
| Based on | Life of Torquato Tasso |
| Premiere | 9 September 1833 Teatro Valle, Rome |
The work has been criticized for "its odd deployment of vocal types"[1] characteristic of the semiseria genre.
Roles
edit| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, 9 September 1833 (Conductor: - ) |
|---|---|---|
| Eleonora, Duke Alfonso's sister | soprano | Adelina Spech-Salvi |
| Eleonora, Countess of Scandiano | mezzo-soprano | Angiolina Carocci |
| Torquato Tasso | baritone | Giorgio Ronconi |
| Roberto Geraldini, the duke's secretary | tenor | Antonio Poggi |
| Don Gherardo | bass | Ferdinando Lauretti |
| Ambrogio, Torquato's servant | tenor | Luigi Garofalo |
| Alfonso II, Duke of Ferrara | bass | Antonio Rinaldi |
| Pages, knights | ||
Synopsis
edit- Time: 16th century
- Place: Ferrara, Northern Italy[2]
Recordings
edit| Year | Cast (Torquato Tasso, Eleanore d'Este, Roberto, Don Gherhardo) |
Conductor, Opera House and Orchestra |
Label[3] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Christian du Plessis, Janet Price, Bruce Brewer, Andrea Snarski |
Kenneth Montgomery, Opera Rara Orchestra and Chorus (Recording of a performance in the Collegiate Theatre, London as part of the Camden Festival on 27 February and 1 and 2 March) |
Audio CD: Celestial Audio Cat: CA 247 |
| 1985 | Simone Alaimo, Luciana Serra, Ernesto Palacio, Roberto Coviello |
Massimo De Bernart Orchestra and chorus of Teatro Comunale, Genova |
Audio CD: Bongiovanni Cat: GB 2028/0-2 |
References
editNotes
- ^ Ashbrook 1998, p. 762
- ^ Osborne, p. 220
- ^ Source for recording information: operadis-opera-discography.org.uk
Cited sources
- Ashbrook, William (1998), "Torquato Tasso, in Stanley Sadie (Ed.), The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, Vol. One. London: Macmillan Publishers, Inc. ISBN 0-333-73432-7 ISBN 1-56159-228-5
- Osborne, Charles, (1994), The Bel Canto Operas of Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini, Portland, Oregon: Amadeus Press. ISBN 0-931340-71-3
Other sources
- Allitt, John Stewart (1991), Donizetti: in the light of Romanticism and the teaching of Johann Simon Mayr, Shaftesbury: Element Books, Ltd (UK); Rockport, MA: Element, Inc.(USA)
- Ashbrook, William (1982), Donizetti and His Operas, Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-23526-X
- Ashbrook, William and Sarah Hibberd (2001), in Holden, Amanda (Ed.), The New Penguin Opera Guide, New York: Penguin Putnam. ISBN 0-14-029312-4. pp. 224 – 247.
- Black, John (1982), Donizetti’s Operas in Naples, 1822—1848. London: The Donizetti Society.
- Loewenberg, Alfred (1970). Annals of Opera, 1597-1940, 2nd edition. Rowman and Littlefield
- Sadie, Stanley, (Ed.); John Tyrell (Exec. Ed.) (2004), The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. 2nd edition. London: Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-19-517067-2 (hardcover). ISBN 0-19-517067-9 OCLC 419285866 (eBook).
- Weinstock, Herbert (1963), Donizetti and the World of Opera in Italy, Paris, and Vienna in the First Half of the Nineteenth Century, New York: Pantheon Books. LCCN 63-13703