''Don John of Austria'' is a

ballad opera The ballad opera is a genre of English stage entertainment that originated in the early 18th century, and continued to develop over the following century and later. Like the earlier '' comédie en vaudeville'' and the later ''Singspiel'', its disti ...

in three acts by

Isaac Nathan Isaac Nathan (15 January 1864) was an English composer, musicologist, journalist and self-publicist, who has been called the "father of Australian music". Early success Isaac Nathan was born around 1791 in the English city of Canterbury to a '' ...

to a

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

Jacob Levi Montefiore Jacob Levi Montefiore (11 January 1819 – 24 January 1885) was a businessman, financier, writer and politician in New South Wales, Australia. He was born at Bridgetown in Barbados to merchant Isaac Jacob Levi and his wife Esther Hannah Montefi ...

. It is the first opera to be written, composed and produced in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. Quote from the opera's title page: :The plot is taken and many scenes are literal translations from

Casimir Delavigne Jean-François Casimir Delavigne (4 April 179311 December 1843) was a French poet and dramatist. Life and career Delavigne was born at Le Havre, but was sent to Paris to be educated at the Lycée Napoleon. He read extensively. When, on 20 March ...

's celebrated comedy of "Don John of Austria" (Don Juan d'Autriche).

Performance history

It premiered on 3 May 1847 at the

Royal Victoria Theatre, Sydney The Royal Victoria Theatre was a theatre in Sydney, Australia, the first large theatre in the city. It opened in 1838; operas, plays, pantomimes and other events were held, and leading entertainers performed at the theatre. It was destroyed by fi ...

and enjoyed a successful run of six performances. It has been produced only twice since: two performances (12 and 14 September 1997) at

Spitalfields Spitalfields is a district in the East End of London and within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The area is formed around Commercial Street (on the A1202 London Inner Ring Road) and includes the locale around Brick Lane, Christ Church, ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, by Spitalfields Market Opera with The

Chelsea Opera Group Chelsea Opera Group is an organisation based in London which arranges concert productions of operas and other works. It was founded in 1950 when David Cairns and Stephen Gray invited Colin Davis, who was at the time a 22-year-old clarinetist, ...

directed by Philip Parr and conducted by Alexander Briger, and semi-staged performances on 18 and 20 October 2007in two actsat the

City Recital Hall City Recital Hall in Sydney, Australia, is a purpose-built concert venue with the capacity for an audience of 1,238 people seated over three tiers of sloped seating. It is situated in the city centre in Angel Place, just off Martin Place. City ...

, Angel Place, Sydney, also conducted by Briger. Nathan's original orchestration has been lost and Nathan's great-great-great grandson, the conductor Sir

Charles Mackerras Mackerras in 2005 Sir Alan Charles MacLaurin Mackerras (; 1925 2010) was an Australian conductor. He was an authority on the operas of Janáček and Mozart, and the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan. He was long associated with the Eng ...

, created a new orchestration. Alexander Briger is a nephew of Mackerras, and Nathan's great-great-great-great grandson.

Synopsis

Nathan’s fast-paced opera tells of the rivalry in love of

Philip II of Spain Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from ...

and his illegitimate half-brother Don John. The libretto follows Delavigne's 1835 ''Don Juan d'Autriche'' fairly closely, except for the addition of a scene near the end with Agnes alone, where she sings "They tell us that a home of light there is, where praying

seraph A seraph (, "burning one"; plural seraphim ) is a type of celestial or heavenly being originating in Ancient Judaism. The term plays a role in subsequent Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Tradition places seraphim in the highest rank in Chr ...

s glow". In fact the opera's plot is in many ways an inversion of

Fromental Halévy Jacques-François-Fromental-Élie Halévy, usually known as Fromental Halévy (; 27 May 179917 March 1862), was a French composer. He is known today largely for his opera '' La Juive''. Early career Halévy was born in Paris, son of the cantor ...

's opera ''

La Juive ''La Juive'' () (''The Jewess'') is a grand opera in five acts by Fromental Halévy to an original French libretto by Eugène Scribe; it was first performed at the Opéra, Paris, on 23 February 1835. Composition history ''La Juive'' was one of t ...

'' (libretto by

Eugène Scribe Augustin Eugène Scribe (; 24 December 179120 February 1861) was a French dramatist and librettist. He is known for writing "well-made plays" ("pièces bien faites"), a mainstay of popular theatre for over 100 years, and as the librettist of man ...

). In the latter, the male lover is precluded from having an affair with his inamorata because she is Jewish, whilst he is a high-born Christian; later it turns out that she was Christian all along, but all ends tragically. In ''Don John'', in a similar situation, it turns out that the 'high-born Christian' is in fact of Jewish descent, and all ends happily.

Roles

*Don

John of Austria John of Austria ( es, Juan, link=no, german: Johann; 24 February 1547 – 1 October 1578) was the natural son born to Holy Roman Emperor Charles V late in life when he was a widower. Charles V met his son only once, recognizing him in a secret ...

, illegitimate son of

Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infan ...

(

tenor A tenor is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The lo ...

) *Donna Agnes, secretly a Jew, also known as Miriam, John's beloved (

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

) *

, King, legitimate son of Charles/Carlos, disguised as the Count de Santa Fiore, also in love with Agnes (

baritone A baritone is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the bass and the tenor voice-types. The term originates from the Greek (), meaning "heavy sounding". Composers typically write music for this voice in the r ...

) *Don Quexada, former Prime Minister (

bass-baritone A bass-baritone is a high-lying bass or low-lying "classical" baritone voice type which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing thr ...

) *Dorothy, Agnes' servant (

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...

) *Chorus **Speaking roles: **Brother Carlos, formerly Charles V of Spain **Don Ruy de Gomes, Philip's Prime Minister **Domingo, Don Quexada's servant **Antonio, Brother Carlos' servant **Jerome, Don Quexada's servant **Don Ferdinand de Valdes,

Grand Inquisitor Grand Inquisitor ( la, Inquisitor Generalis, literally ''Inquisitor General'' or ''General Inquisitor'') was the lead official of the Inquisition. The title usually refers to the chief inquisitor of the Spanish Inquisition, even after the reunif ...

**Lords in Waiting, Officers,

Alguazil Alguacil (in Spanish), aguazil or guazil (in Portuguese) is the title for a number of governmental office-holders. Origin The term ''alguacil'' is derived from the Arabic term (''wazir''), meaning Vizier. The first known use of the term dates b ...

s, Monks and Attendants

Recordings

*1996
"Overture", "The days are gone when Judah's voice"
*2011: (Complete performance)

Steve Davislim Steve Davislim (born 1967) is a Malaysian-born Australian operatic tenor. He is of Chinese and Irish ancestry and is based in Vienna, Austria. Biography He was born Steven Lim in George Town, Penang, Malaysia, in 1967. His father David Lim is of ...

(Don John),

Cheryl Barker Cheryl Ruth Barker (born 22 April 1960, Sydney) is an Australian operatic soprano who has had an active international career since the late 1980s. She has sung on several complete opera recordings with Chandos Records, including the title ro ...

(Donna Anna), Grant Doyle (Philip II), Paul Whelan (Don Quaxada), Sally-Anne Russell (Dorothy), Alexander Briger (conductor), Sydney Philharmonia Chamber Singers,

Sydney Symphony Orchestra The Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is an Australian symphony orchestra that was initially formed in 1908. Since its opening in 1973, the Sydney Opera House has been its home concert hall. Simone Young is the orchestra's chief conductor and firs ...

;

ABC Classics ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

Cat. No.: 4764114''Don John of Austria'' recording booklet
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References

External links

Overture score (piano reduction), 7 pages
{{DEFAULTSORT:Don John Of Austria (Opera) Operas Ballad operas English-language operas 1847 operas Operas set in Spain Jews and Judaism in fiction Operas based on plays Operas completed by others