''Maria de Rudenz'' is a ''dramma tragico'', or tragic
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 three parts by
Gaetano Donizetti. The Italian
libretto was written by
Salvadore Cammarano
Salvadore Cammarano (also Salvatore) (born Naples, 19 March 1801 – died Naples 17 July 1852) was a prolific Italian librettist and playwright perhaps best known for writing the text of ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' (1835) for Gaetano Donizetti.
For ...
, based on "a piece of Gothic horror",
[Osborne 1994, pp. 262-263] ''La nonne sanglante'' by
Auguste Anicet-Bourgeois
Auguste Anicet, later Auguste Anicet-Bourgeois (25 December 1806 – 12 January 1871) was a French dramatist. He was born in Paris.
The first play to bear his name is ''L'Ami et le mari, ou le Nouvel Amphitryon'', a vaudeville in one act. It ...
and
Julien de Mallian, and ''
The Monk
''The Monk: A Romance'' is a Gothic novel by Matthew Gregory Lewis, published in 1796. A quickly written book from early in Lewis's career (in one letter he claimed to have written it in ten weeks, but other correspondence suggests that he ha ...
'' by
Matthew Gregory Lewis
Matthew Gregory Lewis (9 July 1775 – 14 or 16 May 1818) was an English novelist and dramatist, whose writings are often classified as "Gothic horror". He was frequently referred to as "Monk" Lewis, because of the success of his 1796 Gothic no ...
. It premiered at
La Fenice in Venice, on 30 January 1838.
Performance history
19th century
While the initial performances were not very successful (Donizetti regarded them as "a fiasco"),
[Weinstock 1963, pp. 354-355] the opera was withdrawn after two performances.
It was given 14 performances in Rome in 1841 but, again, it was received with little enthusiasm.
Finally, an "excellent production and superior singing this time won vigorous approval"
in a production in Rome in 1841, and this was followed by one in Naples in 1848 at the Teatro Nuovo and three years later for a production at the
Teatro San Carlo
The Real Teatro di San Carlo ("Royal Theatre of Saint Charles"), as originally named by the Bourbon monarchy but today known simply as the Teatro (di) San Carlo, is an opera house in Naples, Italy, connected to the Royal Palace and adjacent ...
.
20th century and beyond
The opera did not receive a production in the UK until the
Opera Rara
Opera Rara is a London-based opera company and recording label which specialises in recording and performing forgotten operatic repertoire from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Founded in 1970 by bel canto enthusiasts Patric Schmid and Don Whi ...
concert presentation in London on 27 October 1974. The first staged presentations in the 20th century took place at La Fenice beginning on 21 December 1980 with
Katia Ricciarelli
Catiuscia Maria Stella Ricciarelli (born 16 January 1946), known as Katia Ricciarelli (), is an Italian soprano and actress.
Biography
Born in Rovigo, Veneto, to a very poor family, she struggled during her younger years when she studied music ...
in the title role.
Both have been recorded. Among other performances, the opera was staged at the Donizetti Festival,
Bergamo, in 2013 and by the
Wexford Opera Festival in 2016.
Roles
Synopsis
:Place: Switzerland
:Time: 1400
Maria de Rudenz falls in love with Corrado against her father's wishes and flees with him to Venice. In Venice, Corrado suspects that Maria is unfaithful to him, abandons her, returns to Rudenz Castle, and falls in love with Maria's cousin Mathilde.
Maria returns to her ancestor's castle and discovers that her lover is not only going to marry her cousin, but that in fact he is also the son of a murderer. She is ready to keep his secret if only Corrado returns to her. Corrado refuses and in a rage injures her with his sword so that everyone thinks that she is dead.
On the wedding day of Mathilde and Corrado, Maria appears again. Maria reveals Corrado's secret to everyone, murders Mathilde, and commits suicide.
Recordings
References
Notes
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.
*Ashbrook, William (1998), "Donizetti, Gaetano" in
Stanley Sadie (Ed.), ''
The New Grove Dictionary of Opera
''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an encyclopedia of opera, considered to be one of the best general reference sources on the subject. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volu ...
'', Vol. Three, pp. 201–203. London: MacMillan Publishers, Inc.
*Ashbrook, William and Sarah Hibberd (2001), in
Holden, Amanda (Ed.), ''The New Penguin Opera Guide'', New York: Penguin Putnam. . 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
*
Osborne, Charles, (1994), ''The Bel Canto Operas of Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini'', Portland, Oregon: Amadeus Press.
*Sadie, Stanley, (Ed.); John Tyrell (Exec. Ed.) (2004), ''
The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...
''. 2nd edition. London: Macmillan. (hardcover). (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.
External links
Donizetti Society (London) website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maria De Rudenz
Italian-language operas
Operas by Gaetano Donizetti
1838 operas
Operas
Opera world premieres at La Fenice
Operas based on novels
Operas set in Switzerland