''Leonora, ossia L’amore coniugale'' (''Leonora or Conjugal Love'') 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 librett ...

(specifically a ''dramma semiserio'') in two acts by the Italian composer

Ferdinando Paer Ferdinando Paer (1 July 1771 – 3 May 1839) was an Italian composer known for his operas. He was of Austrian descent and used the German spelling Pär in application for printing in Venice, and later in France the spelling Paër. Life and career ...

. The

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 ...

, by

Giovanni Schmidt Giovanni Schmidt ( in Livorno – in Naples) was an Italian librettist. Life He moved to Naples while he was still young and stayed there for the rest of his life. Between 1800 and 1839 he wrote libretti for 45 operas, especially for the Teatro ...

, is based on '' Léonore, ou L’amour conjugal'' (1794) by

Jean-Nicolas Bouilly Jean-Nicolas Bouilly (24 January 1763 – 14 April 1842) was a French playwright, librettist, children's writer, and politician of the French Revolution. He is best known for writing a libretto, supposedly based on a true story, about a woman who ...

, which was also the source of Beethoven's ''

Fidelio ''Fidelio'' (; ), originally titled ' (''Leonore, or The Triumph of Marital Love''), Op. 72, is Ludwig van Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto was originally prepared by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly, with ...

''.

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

himself owned a score of Paer's opera and it is believed to have had some influence on his work. ''Leonora'' was first performed at the Kleines Kurfürstliches Theater,

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 larg ...

, on 3 October 1804 with the composer's wife singing the title role.

Roles

Synopsis

Leonora disguises herself as a man in order to infiltrate the prison where her husband, Florestano, is being held by his enemy, Don Pizarro. She fools the jailer Rocco into giving her a job. When Don Pizarro hears of the imminent arrival of the governor, Don Fernando, he orders Rocco to execute Florestano. Leonora accompanies Rocco to the underground cell where Florestano is being held then threatens the jailer with a pistol until Don Fernando arrives and Florestano is freed.

Performances

The opera was revived in Dresden in 1821. Probably the first performance since then was given at

Schwetzingen Schwetzingen (; pfl, Schwetzinge) is a German town in northwest Baden-Württemberg, around southwest of Heidelberg and southeast of Mannheim. Schwetzingen is one of the five biggest cities of the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis district and a medium-sized ...

in 1976 under

Peter Maag Ernst Peter Johannes Maag (10 May 1919 – 16 April 2001) was a Swiss conductor. Early life Peter Maag was born on 10 May 1919 in St. Gallen, Switzerland and died on 16 April 2001 in Verona, Italy. His father, Otto, was a Lutheran minister, ...

, who had discovered the score in

Parma Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...

, Paer's birthplace. This was recorded live and issued on the MRF label. Soloists were: Carson/Casula/Jerusalem/Frusoni/Stavrù/Luccardi/Tadeo-G. Two years later (1978) Decca made a studio recording, also under Maag: Koszut/ Gruberová/van Kesteren/Jerusalem/Orth/Brendel/Tadeo-G with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. This was in stereo and issued in the U.S. as London OSA 13133. In November 2000,

Zürich Opera Zürich Opera (Oper Zürich) is a Swiss opera company based in Zürich. The company gives performances in the Zürich Opera House. History The first performance at the current theatre occurred on 30 September 1891, with a production of Wagner's '' ...

staged a production of Leonora at its “branch” theatre in

Winterthur , neighboring_municipalities = Brütten, Dinhard, Elsau, Hettlingen, Illnau-Effretikon, Kyburg, Lindau, Neftenbach, Oberembrach, Pfungen, Rickenbach, Schlatt, Seuzach, Wiesendangen, Zell , twintowns = Hall in Tirol (Austria), La ...

, with the Romanian soprano Iulia Isaev as Leonora. Florestano was sung by a 31 year-old newcomer to Zürich,

Jonas Kaufmann Jonas Kaufmann (born 10 July 1969) is a German operatic tenor. He is best known for the versatility of his repertoire, performing a variety of opera roles in multiple languages in recitalTommasini, Anthony (21 February 2014)"A Tenor Finds Energy ...

. The UK première was given by

Bampton Classical Opera Bampton Classical Opera is an opera company based in Bampton, Oxfordshire and founded in 1993. It specialises in the production of lesser known opera from the Classical period. Performances are always sung in English. ''Opera today'' called the c ...

in 2008, in English.

Sources

* ''The Viking Opera Guide'' ed. Holden (Viking, 1993)
Del Teatro (in Italian)

References

{{Authority control Operas by Ferdinando Paer Italian-language operas 1804 operas Rescue operas Operas Operas based on plays

Roles

Synopsis

Performances

See also

Sources

References