''L'arbore di Diana'' (''The Tree of Diana''), is an

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

in two acts composed by

Vicente Martín y Soler Anastasio Martín Ignacio Vicente Tadeo Francisco Pellegrin Martín y Soler (2 May 175430 January or 10 February 1806) was a Spanish composer of opera and ballet. Although relatively obscure now, in his own day he was compared favorably with his ...

, with an original libretto by

Lorenzo da Ponte Lorenzo Da Ponte (; 10 March 174917 August 1838) was an Italian, later American, opera librettist, poet and Roman Catholic priest. He wrote the libretti for 28 operas by 11 composers, including three of Mozart's most celebrated operas: ''The Marr ...

. It premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienna on 1 October 1787.

Background and performance history

Da Ponte's librettos for ''L'arbore di Diana'' and '' Così fan tutte'' were the only ones of his not taken from an existing plot. The opera's premiere on 1 October 1787 marked a visit to Vienna of the niece of Holy Roman Emperor

Joseph II Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 un ...

, the Archduchess Maria Teresa, who was on her way to

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

to marry Prince Anton Clemens of Saxony in person (they had been married by proxy in Florence the month before). The work was enormously successful in its day, but Martín's operas have since fallen from the repertoire. A revival was performed during the 2007/2008 season at the Theater Bielefeld in North Rhine Westphalia, Germany. The opera was revived and recorded in Valencia in 2008 at the

Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía (; es, Palacio de las Artes Reina Sofía; anglicised as "Queen Sofía Palace of the Arts") is an opera house, performing arts centre, and urban landmark designed by Santiago Calatrava to anchor the northwest end of ...

. It has also been revived in Barcelona in 2009 at the

Gran Teatre del Liceu Gran may refer to: People *Grandmother, affectionately known as "gran" * Gran (name) Places * Gran, the historical German name for Esztergom, a city and the primatial metropolitan see of Hungary * Gran, Norway, a municipality in Innlandet cou ...

and the

Minnesota Opera Minnesota Opera is a performance organization based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was founded as the Center Opera Company in 1963 by the Walker Art Center, and is known for premiering such diverse works as ''Where the Wild Things Are'' by Oliver ...

in 2017, the latter conducted by Michael Christie. The music consists of "an amalgam of through-composed conversations and encounters, punctuated by brief songs and ariettas"; the plot concerns the goddess Diana's attempts to defend her island as a stronghold of chastity. When confronted by the good-looking shepherd Doristo her defences fall down.Blain, T. Report from St Paul. ''

Opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

'', May 2017, Vol.68, No.5, p628-9.

Roles

Recordings

*Soler: ''L'arbore di Diana'' – Laura Aikin (Diana), Michael Maniaci (Amore), Ainhoa Gramendia (Britomarte/Genio 1), Marisa Martins (Clizia/Genio 2), Jossie Pérez (Cloe/Genio 3), Charles Workman (Silvio), Steve Davislim (Endimione), Marco Vinco (Doristo);

Orchestra and Chorus;

Harry Bicket Harry Alexander Clarence Bicket (born 1961) is a British conductor, harpsichordist and organist. He is particularly associated with the baroque and classical repertoire. Bicket was educated at Radley College, Christ Church, Oxford, where he ...

(conductor);

Francisco Negrin Francisco Negrin (born June 5, 1963)Federico Figueroa (Mexico City, October 2004) "Un mexicano en el mundo and contemporary music and his work in all media is characterised by a highly integrated use of dance and technology as part of the dramat ...

(director). Recorded Barcelona, 2009. Label:

Dynamic Dynamics (from Greek δυναμικός ''dynamikos'' "powerful", from δύναμις ''dynamis'' "power") or dynamic may refer to: Physics and engineering * Dynamics (mechanics) ** Aerodynamics, the study of the motion of air ** Analytical dyna ...

DVD 33651

Score

''L'arbore di Diana'', critical edition by Leonardo Waisman, IBERAUTOR/ICCMU. Madrid, 2001.

References

* *

Anthony Holden Anthony Holden (born 22 May 1947) is an English writer, broadcaster and critic, particularly known as a biographer of artists including Shakespeare, Tchaikovsky, the essayist Leigh Hunt, the opera librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte and the actor Laure ...

, ''Lorenzo Da Ponte, The Man Who Wrote Mozart'' (2006) *Jesson, Roy (1972)
"Martin's ''L'arbore di Diana''"
''

The Musical Times ''The Musical Times'' is an academic journal of classical music edited and produced in the United Kingdom and currently the oldest such journal still being published in the country. It was originally created by Joseph Mainzer in 1842 as ''Mainzer ...

'', Vol. 113, No. 1552 (June, 1972), pp. 551–553 {{DEFAULTSORT:Arbore di Diana, L' Italian-language operas Operas 1787 operas Operas by Vicente Martín y Soler Opera world premieres at the Burgtheater