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 Bel canto (Italian for "beautiful singing" or "beautiful song", )—with several similar constructions (''bellezze del canto'', ''bell'arte del canto'')—is a term with several meanings that relate to Italian singing. The phrase was not associat ...

enthusiasts Patric Schmid and Don White, Opera Rara's recordings are internationally distributed by

Warner Classics Warner Classics is the classical music arm of Warner Music Group. The label began issuing new recordings under the Warner Classics banner in 1991. The company also includes the Erato Records, Teldec Records and NVC Arts labels. Based in France, W ...

. In September 2019, Italian conductor Carlo Rizzi succeeded

Sir Mark Elder Sir Mark Philip Elder (born 2 June 1947) is a British conductor. He is currently music director of the Hallé Orchestra in Manchester, England. Life and career Elder was born in Hexham, Northumberland, the son of a dentist. He played the ba ...

as Artistic Director.

History

Opera Rara launched in the 1970s with a series of concerts of 19th-century operatic arias performed at the

Southbank Centre Southbank Centre is a complex of artistic venues in London, England, on the South Bank of the River Thames (between Hungerford Bridge and Waterloo Bridge). It comprises three main performance venues (the Royal Festival Hall including the Nat ...

, St John’s Smith Square and

Wigmore Hall Wigmore Hall is a concert hall located at 36 Wigmore Street, London. Originally called Bechstein Hall, it specialises in performances of chamber music, early music, vocal music and song recitals. It is widely regarded as one of the world's leadin ...

in London. The company presented its first complete opera -

Meyerbeer Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Mozart and Wagner". With his 1831 opera ''Robert le di ...

’s '' Il crociato in Egitto'' - in 1972 at the

Queen Elizabeth Hall The Queen Elizabeth Hall (QEH) is a music venue on the South Bank in London, England, that hosts classical, jazz, and avant-garde music, talks and dance performances. It was opened in 1967, with a concert conducted by Benjamin Britten. The ...

, marking the first performance of the opera for more than 100 years. It subsequently performed at the Bath Festival,

Camden Festival Camden Festival was an annual spring festival founded in 1954 and held in London, England. Originally, it was named the St Pancras Festival until 1965. It continued until 1987. The festival specialised in the revival of long-forgotten operas, some ...

(where its first staged production was

Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the '' bel canto'' opera style dur ...

’s ''

Le convenienze ed inconvenienze teatrali ''Le convenienze ed inconvenienze teatrali'' (''Conventions and Inconveniences of the Stage''), also known as ''Viva la mamma'' and ''Viva la Diva'', is a dramma giocoso, or opera, in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The Italian libretto was writte ...

'') and Sadler’s Wells. A rise in pirated recordings broadcast by

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

of Opera Rara performances led to a decision to issue its own recordings. In 1978, it released its first: the world premiere studio recording of Donizetti’s ''

Ugo, conte di Parigi ''Ugo, conte di Parigi'' (''Hugo, Count of Paris'') is a ''tragedia lirica'', or tragic opera, in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Felice Romani wrote the Italian libretto after Hippolyte-Louis-Florent Bis's ''Blanche d'Aquitaine''. It premiered o ...

'' starring

Janet Price Janet Price (born 1938) is a Welsh soprano particularly associated with the 19th-century Italian bel canto repertory. She has been married to composer Adrian Beaumont since 1963. Born in Pontypool, Wales, she studied piano and singing at the Car ...

Yvonne Kenny Yvonne Kenny AM (born 25 November 1950) is an Australian soprano, particularly associated with Handel, Mozart and bel canto roles. Biography Born in Sydney, she first studied at the University of Sydney in science, hoping to become a biochemi ...

Della Jones Della Jones is a Welsh mezzo-soprano, particularly well known for her interpretations of works by Handel, Mozart, Rossini, Donizetti, and Britten. Early life Jones was born in Tonna, near Neath, Wales. She attended Neath Grammar School for Girls ...

and

Christian du Plessis Christian du Plessis (born 2 July 1944) is a South African baritone, largely based in England, and particularly associated with the bel canto repertory. Born in Vryheid, South Africa, he studied in Johannesburg with Teasdale Griffiths and Esme We ...

. The opera itself had been reconstructed by Patric Schmid from the composer’s autograph manuscript. In July 2018 Opera Rara gave the world premiere of Donizetti's '' L’Ange de Nisida'' in collaboration with the

Royal Opera House, Covent Garden The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Ope ...

. A live recording taken from those performances was released in March 2019. The score had been reconstructed over a period of eight years by Italian musicologist Candida Mantica. The first complete staging of ''L’Ange de Nisida'' was subsequently given at the 2019 Donizetti Festival in

Bergamo Bergamo (; lmo, Bèrghem ; from the proto- Germanic elements *''berg +*heim'', the "mountain home") is a city in the alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from Switzerland, the alpine lakes Como ...

. The company has also performed and recorded works by other 19th-century composers, including Bellini,

Massenet Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet (; 12 May 1842 – 13 August 1912) was a French composer of the Romantic era best known for his operas, of which he wrote more than thirty. The two most frequently staged are ''Manon'' (1884) and ''Werther'' ...

Mayr Mayr is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Andrea Mayr (born 1979), Austrian female long-distance runner * Ernst Mayr (1904–2005), German American evolutionary biologist * Georg Mayr (1564–1623), Bavarian Jesuit pri ...

, Mercadante,

, Pacini,

Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards f ...

and

Ambroise Thomas Charles Louis Ambroise Thomas (; 5 August 1811 – 12 February 1896) was a French composer and teacher, best known for his operas ''Mignon'' (1866) and ''Hamlet'' (1868). Born into a musical family, Thomas was a student at the Conservatoire de ...

. Under Artistic Director

(2011-2019), the company began to explore works by French composers of the same period including

Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...

and Offenbach, as well as verismo operas from the turn of the 20th century.

Performances

In recent years, Opera Rara has given annual concert performances of operas either at London’s

Barbican Centre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhi ...

The Royal Festival Hall The Royal Festival Hall is a 2,700-seat concert, dance and talks venue within Southbank Centre in London. It is situated on the South Bank of the River Thames, not far from Hungerford Bridge, in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is a Grade I ...

, usually preceded by a week–long recording in the studio. The company has collaborated the

BBC Symphony Orchestra The BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC SO) is a British orchestra based in London. Founded in 1930, it was the first permanent salaried orchestra in London, and is the only one of the city's five major symphony orchestras not to be self-governing. T ...

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OAE) is a British period instrument orchestra. The OAE is a resident orchestra of the Southbank Centre, London, associate orchestra at Glyndebourne Festival Opera Artistic Associate at Kings Place, and h ...

the Hallé The Hallé is an English symphony orchestra based in Manchester, England. It supports a choir, youth choir, youth training choir, children's choir and a youth orchestra, and releases its recordings on its own record label, though it has occasiona ...

Britten Sinfonia Britten Sinfonia is a chamber orchestra ensemble based in Cambridge, UK. It was created in 1992, following an initiative from Eastern Arts and a number of key figures including Nicholas Cleobury, who recognised the need for an orchestra in the ...

and

London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symphony ...

; and with conductors David Parry,

Maurizio Benini Maurizio Benini (born 1952) is an Italian conductor and composer. He made his debut in 1998 in ''L'elisir d'amore'' at the Teatro Comunale di Bologna. ''Gramophone'' notes his "spirit and finesse" at conducting. He has also conducted opera perform ...

and

Daniele Rustioni Daniele Rustioni (born 1983) is an Italian conductor. Biography Rustioni was born in Milan, and studied piano, organ, and composition at the Milan Conservatory. He sang in the boys choir of the Teatro alla Scala in his youth. He studied cello f ...

. Opera Rara has now worked with

four times and in addition to past appearances at the

Edinburgh International Festival The Edinburgh International Festival is an annual arts festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, spread over the final three weeks in August. Notable figures from the international world of music (especially classical music) and the performing arts are i ...

, made its

BBC Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...

debut with Rossini's ''

Semiramide ''Semiramide'' () is an opera in two acts by Gioachino Rossini. The libretto by Gaetano Rossi is based on Voltaire's tragedy ''Semiramis'', which in turn was based on the legend of Semiramis of Assyria. The opera was first performed at La Fenice ...

'' in 2016. Opera Rara’s first international collaboration was in 2019 with the

Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana The Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana ( es, Orquesta de la Comunidad Valenciana), is an orchestra based in Valencia, Spain and the resident orchestra of Valencia’s opera house, Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía. History The Orchestra was create ...

Recordings

Since 1970, Opera Rara has released over 100 recordings including 60 complete operas - many of which are world premiere recordings - an “Il Salotto” series, artist collections, highlights, anthologies and compilations. Its studio recordings have received awards from the

International Opera Awards The International Opera Awards is an annual awards ceremony honouring excellence in opera around the world. Origins The International Opera Awards was founded in 2013 by Harry Hyman, a UK businessman, philanthropist and supporter of opera, and ...

International Classical Music Awards The International Classical Music Awards (ICMA) are music awards first awarded 6 April 2011. ICMA replace the Cannes Classical Awards (later called MIDEM Classical Awards) formerly awarded at MIDEM. The jury consists of music critics of magazines ...

, Opus Klassik Awards, Edison Klassiek Awards and Oper! Awards. Over the years, Opera Rara has established close relationships with a number of singers, including Bruce Ford, Colin Lee,

Jennifer Larmore Jennifer Larmore (born June 21, 1958) is an American mezzo-soprano opera singer, particularly noted for her performances in coloratura and bel canto roles which she has performed in the world's major opera houses.Slonimsky, Nicolas and Kuhn, ...

and Nelly Mircioiu in the early years, and in recent years,

Joyce El-Khoury Joyce El-Khoury is a Lebanese-Canadian opera singer performing with leading opera companies and symphony orchestras around the world. She is a soprano praised for her bel canto singing. Early life and education El-Khoury was born in Beirut, Le ...

Michael Spyres Michael Spyres is an American operatic baritenor. He is particularly associated with the bel canto repertoire, especially the works of Rossini, and heroic roles in French grand opera. Biography Michael Spyres was born in 1979 in Missouri, US, and ...

Ermonela Jaho Ermonela Jaho (born 1974) is an Albanian operatic soprano. She was described in ''The Economist'' as "the world’s most acclaimed soprano". The ''Financial Times'' said "Ermonela Jaho throws heart and soul into her singing... Don't even try to r ...

Albina Shagimuratova Albina Anvarovna Shagimuratova (russian: Альбина Анваровна Шагимуратова, link=no; born 17 October 1979) is a Russian coloratura soprano. In 2019 her recording of the title role in ''Semiramide'' for Opera Rara won the ...

and

Daniela Barcellona Daniela Barcellona (born 28 March 1969) is an Italian operatic mezzo-soprano. Biography Barcellona was born in Trieste, where she completed her musical studies under the guidance of Alessandro Vitiello, pianist and conductor. She married Viti ...

. Opera Rara gave its Patron

Renée Fleming Renée Lynn Fleming (born February 14, 1959) is an American soprano, known for performances in opera, concerts, recordings, theater, film, and at major public occasions. A recipient of the National Medal of Arts, Fleming has been nominated for 1 ...

her first recording opportunity in 1994 with the studio recording of Donizetti’s '' Rosmonda d’Inghilterra.''

Publishing

In 2020, Opera Rara announced a new relationship with the Italian publisher

Casa Ricordi Casa Ricordi is a publisher of primarily classical music and opera. Its classical repertoire represents one of the important sources in the world through its publishing of the work of the major 19th-century Italian composers such as Gioachino Ro ...

, making its 46 performing editions of operas available to rent to opera houses and festivals around the world. The Opera Rara Music Library – now The Foyle Opera Rara Collection – moved to a permanent home at The Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in 2018. Comprising more than five thousand volumes, the Collection includes first and early editions of 19th-century Italian opera scores by composers such as

, Bellini,

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

Puccini Giacomo Puccini (Lucca, 22 December 1858Bruxelles, 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long lin ...

, Mercadante, Pacini,

Ponchielli Amilcare Ponchielli (, ; 31 August 1834 – 16 January 1886) was an Italian opera composer, best known for his opera ''La Gioconda''. He was married to the soprano Teresina Brambilla. Life and work Born in Paderno Fasolaro (now Paderno Ponchiell ...

Leoncavallo Ruggero (or Ruggiero) Leoncavallo ( , , ; 23 April 18579 August 1919) was an Italian opera composer and librettist. Although he produced numerous operas and other songs throughout his career it is his opera ''Pagliacci'' (1892) that remained his ...

and Mascagni.

Discography

Below are all the operas, listed by composer, which Opera Rara has produced complete recordings of. The recordings indicated by one asterisk (*) are world premiere recordings:Bellini *''

Adelson e Salvini ''Adelson e Salvini'' (''Adelson and Salvini'') is a three-act opera semiseria composed by Vincenzo Bellini from a libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola. The opera was based on the 1772 novel ''Épreuves du Sentiment'' by François-Thomas-Marie de B ...

'' (ORC56)* *''

Il pirata ''Il pirata'' (''The Pirate'') is an opera in two acts by Vincenzo Bellini with an Italian libretto by Felice Romani which was based on a three-act ''mélodrame ''from 1826: ''Bertram, ou le Pirate'' (''Bertram, or The Pirate'') by Charles Nodie ...

'' (ORC45) *''

La straniera ''La straniera'' (''The Foreign Woman'') is an opera in two acts with music by Vincenzo Bellini to an Italian libretto by Felice Romani, based on the novel ''L'Étrangère'' (2 vols, 1825) by Charles-Victor Prévot, vicomte d'Arlincourt, although ...

'' (ORC38)* Donizetti *''

Belisario ''Belisario'' (''Belisarius'') is a ''tragedia lirica'' (tragic opera) in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian libretto after Luigi Marchionni's adaptation of play, ''Belisarius'', first staged in Munich in 182 ...

'' (ORC49)* *''

Caterina Cornaro Catherine Cornaro ( el, Αικατερίνη Κορνάρο, vec, Catarina Corner) (25 November 1454 – 10 July 1510) was the last monarch of the Kingdom of Cyprus, also holding the titles of the Queen of Jerusalem and Armenia. She was queen ...

'' (ORC48) *'' Dom Sébastien, roi de Portugal'' (ORC33) *''

Elvida ''Elvida'' is a ''melodramma'' or opera in one act by Gaetano Donizetti. Giovanni Schmidt wrote the Italian libretto. The opera was written as a ''pièce d'occasion'' for the birthday of María Isabella of Spain, Queen Maria of the Two Sicilies. ...

'' (ORC29)* *'' Emilia di Liverpool'' (ORC8)* *''

Francesca di Foix ''Francesca di Foix'' is a ''melodramma giocoso'' (comic opera) in one act by Gaetano Donizetti with a libretto by Domenico Gilardoni based on one by Jean-Nicolas Bouilly and Emmanuel Mercier-Dupaty for Henri Montan Berton's 3-act opéra-comique ...

'' (ORC28)* *''

Gabriella di Vergy ''Gabriella di Vergy'' is an opera seria in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti written in 1826 and revised in 1838, from a libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola, which was based on the tragedy ''Gabrielle de Vergy'' (1777) by Dormont De Belloy. Prior to ...

'' (ORC3)* *''

Il diluvio universale ''Il diluvio universale'' (''The great flood'') is an azione tragico-sacra, or opera, by Gaetano Donizetti. The Italian libretto was written by Domenico Gilardoni after Lord Byron's '' Heaven and Earth'' and Francesco Ringhieri's tragedy ''Il ...

'' (ORC31)* *''

Il paria (''The Outcast'') is an opera in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Belli ...

'' (ORC60) *''

Imelda de' Lambertazzi ''Imelda de' Lambertazzi'' is a ''melodramma tragico'' or tragic opera in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti from a libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola, based on the tragedy ''Imelda'' by Gabriele Sperduti. It received its first performance on 5 Septem ...

'' (ORC36)* *'' La romanzesca e l'uomo nero'' (ORC19)* *''

L'ange de Nisida ''L'Ange de Nisida'' (''The Angel of Nisida'') is an ''opera semiseria'' in four acts by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti, from a French-language libretto by Alphonse Royer and Gustave Vaëz. Parts of the libretto are considered analogous with ...

'' (ORC58)* *''

L'assedio di Calais ''L'assedio di Calais'' (''The siege of Calais'') is an 1836 ''melodramma lirico'', or opera, in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti, his 49th opera. Salvatore Cammarano wrote the Italian libretto, which has been described as "...a remarkable libret ...

'' (ORC9)* *''

Le duc d'Albe ''Le duc d'Albe'' (its original French title) or ''Il duca d'Alba'' (its later Italian title) is an opera in three acts originally composed by Gaetano Donizetti in 1839 to a France, French language libretto by Eugène Scribe and Charles Duveyrie ...

'' (ORC54)* *''

Les Martyrs ''Les martyrs'' (''The Martyrs'') is a four-act grand opera by Gaetano Donizetti set to a French libretto by Eugène Scribe. The libretto was based on one written by Salvadore Cammarano for an original Italian version known as ''Poliuto'', which w ...

'' (ORC52)* *''

Linda di Chamounix ''Linda di Chamounix'' is an operatic ''melodramma semiserio'' in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The Italian libretto was written by Gaetano Rossi. It premiered in Vienna, at the Kärntnertortheater, on 19 May 1842. Performance history ''Li ...

'' (ORC43) *''

Maria de Rudenz ''Maria de Rudenz'' is a ''dramma tragico'', or tragic opera, in three parts by Gaetano Donizetti. The Italian libretto was written by Salvadore Cammarano, based on "a piece of Gothic horror",Osborne 1994, pp. 262-263 ''La nonne sanglante'' by ...

'' (ORC16)* *''

Maria di Rohan ''Maria di Rohan'' is a ''melodramma tragico'', or tragic opera, in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The Italian libretto was written by Salvadore Cammarano, after Lockroy and Edmond Badon's ''Un duel sous le cardinal de Richelieu'', which had pl ...

'' (ORC44)* *''

Maria Padilla ''Maria Padilla'' is a ''melodramma'', or opera, in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Gaetano Rossi and the composer wrote the Italian libretto after François Ancelot's play. It premiered on 26 December 1841 at La Scala, Milan. The plot is loose ...

'' (ORC6)* *'' Ne m’oubliez pas'' (ORC4)* *''

Parisina ''Parisina'' is a 586-line poem written by Lord Byron. It was probably written between 1812 and 1815, and published on 13 February 1816. It is based on a story related by Edward Gibbon in his '' Miscellaneous Works'' (1796) about Niccolò III d ...

'' (ORC40) *''

Pia de' Tolomei Pia de' Tolomei was an Italian noblewoman from Siena identified as "la Pia," a minor character in Dante's ''Divine Comedy'' who was murdered by her husband. Her brief presence in the poem has inspired many works in art, music, literature, and cin ...

'' (ORC30)* *''

Rita Rita may refer to: People * Rita (given name) * Rita (Indian singer) (born 1984) * Rita (Israeli singer) (born 1962) * Rita (Japanese singer) * Eliza Humphreys (1850–1938), wrote under the pseudonym Rita Places * Djarrit, also known as Rita, ...

'' (ORC50)* *''

Roberto Devereux ''Roberto Devereux'' (or ''Roberto Devereux, ossia Il conte di Essex'' 'Robert Devereux, or the Earl of Essex'' is a ''tragedia lirica'', or tragic opera, by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian libretto after François Ance ...

'' (ORC24) *''

Rosmonda d'Inghilterra ''Rosmonda d'Inghilterra'' (''Rosamund of England'') is a ''melodramma'' or opera in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The Italian language, Italian libretto was written by Felice Romani originally for Carlo Coccia, Coccia's ''Rosmunda'' (1829). ...

'' (ORC13)* *''

'' (ORC1)* *''

Zoraida di Granata ''Zoraida di Granata'' (also ''Zoraide di Granata'' or ''Zoraïda di Granata'') is a ''melodramma eroico'' (''opera seria'' or 'heroic' opera), in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The Italian libretto had been partly prepared by Bartolomeo Merelli ...

'' (ORC17)* Gounod *''

La Colombe ''La Colombe'' (''The Dove'') is an ''opéra comique'' in two acts by Charles Gounod with a libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré based on the poem ''Le Faucon'' by Jean de la Fontaine. It premiered in a one-act version at the Theater der St ...

'' (ORC53) Leoncavallo *''

Zazà ''Zazà'' is an opera by Ruggero Leoncavallo, with a libretto by the composer. The story concerns the French music hall singer, Zazà, and her affair and subsequent decision to leave her lover, Milio, when she discovers that he is married. The mu ...

'' (ORC55) Massenet *''

Le Portrait de Manon ''Le portrait de Manon'' is an opéra comique in one act by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Georges Boyer. It is related to Massenet's 1884 opera '' Manon'', widely regarded to be his masterpiece. However ''Le portrait de Manon'' is rarel ...

'' (ORC47) (includes Berlioz: ''

Les nuits d'été ''Les nuits d'été'' (''Summer Nights''), Opus number, Op. 7, is a song cycle by the French composer Hector Berlioz. It is a setting of six poems by Théophile Gautier. The cycle, completed in 1841, was originally for soloist and piano accompanim ...

'') Mayr *''

Ginevra di Scozia ''Ginevra di Scozia'' is an opera in two acts by Simon Mayr set to an Italian libretto by Gaetano Rossi based on Antonio Salvi's ''Ginevra, principessa di Scozia'', which in turn was adapted from cantos 5 and 6 of Ludovico Ariosto's ''Orlando Fur ...

'' (ORC23)* *''

Medea in Corinto ''Medea in Corinto'' (''Medea in Corinth'') is an 1813 opera in Italian by the composer Simon Mayr. It takes the form of a ''melodramma tragico'' in two acts. The libretto, by Felice Romani, is based on the Greek myth of Medea and the plays on t ...

'' (ORC11) Mercadante *'' Emma d'Antiochia'' (ORC26)* *''

Orazi e Curiazi ''Orazi e Curiazi'' (''The Horatii and the Curiatii'') is an opera by the Italian composer Saverio Mercadante. It takes the form of a ''tragedia lirica'' in three acts. The libretto, by Salvadore Cammarano, is based on the Roman legend of the fi ...

'' (ORC12)* *''

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

'' (ORC39)* Meyerbeer *''

Dinorah ''Dinorah'', originally ''Le pardon de Ploërmel'' (''The Pardon of Ploërmel''), is an 1859 French opéra comique in three acts with music by Giacomo Meyerbeer and a libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré. The story takes place near the rura ...

'' (ORC5)* *'' Il crociato in Egitto'' (ORC10)* *''

Margherita d'Anjou ''Margherita d'Anjou'' is an ''opera semiseria'' in two acts by Giacomo Meyerbeer. The Italian libretto was by Felice Romani after a text based on legends around the English Wars of the Roses by René-Charles Guilbert de Pixérécourt. The tit ...

'' (ORC25)* Offenbach *''

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...

'' (ORC2) *'' Fantasio'' (ORC51)* *''

Robinson Crusoe ''Robinson Crusoe'' () is a novel by Daniel Defoe, first published on 25 April 1719. The first edition credited the work's protagonist Robinson Crusoe as its author, leading many readers to believe he was a real person and the book a tra ...

'' (ORC7)* *''

Vert-Vert ''Vert-Vert'' is an opéra comique in three acts by Jacques Offenbach, with a libretto by Henri Meilhac and Charles Nuitter, first performed on the 10th of March 1869 at the Paris Opéra-Comique. Based on the 1734 poem « Vert-Vert ou les voyages ...

'' (ORC41)* Pacini *''

Alessandro nell'Indie ''Alessandro nelle Indie'' (''Alexander in India'') is an opera seria in two acts by Giovanni Pacini to a libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola and Giovanni Schmidt, based on '' Alessandro nell'Indie'' by Pietro Metastasio. It was premiered at the Te ...

'' (ORC35)* *'' Carlo di Borgogna'' (ORC21)* *''

Maria, regina d'Inghilterra (''Mary Tudor, Queen of England'') is an Italian opera in three acts, composed by Giovanni Pacini from a libretto by Leopoldo Tarantini, which was based on the 1833 play ''Marie Tudor'' by Victor Hugo. It was given its first performance at the Te ...

'' (ORC15)* Puccini *'' Le Willis'' (ORC59) Rossini *''

Adelaide di Borgogna ''Adelaide di Borgogna, ossia Ottone, re d'Italia'' (''Adelaide of Burgundy, or Otto, King of Italy'') is a two-act opera composed by Gioachino Rossini (with contributions by Michele Carafa) to a libretto by Giovanni Schmidt. It was premièred ...

'' (ORC32) *''

Aureliano in Palmira ''Aureliano in Palmira'' is an operatic ''dramma serio'' in two acts written by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto in which the librettist was credited only by the initials "G. F. R." The libretto has generally been attributed to ...

'' (ORC46)* *''

Bianca e Falliero ''Bianca e Falliero, ossia Il consiglio dei tre'' (English: ''Bianca and Falliero, or The Counsel of Three'') is a two-act operatic ''melodramma'' by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Felice Romani. The libretto was based on Antoine- ...

'' (ORC20)* *''

Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra ''Elisabetta, regina d'Inghilterra'' (; ''Elizabeth, Queen of England'') is a ''dramma per musica'' or opera in two acts by Gioachino Rossini to a libretto by Giovanni Schmidt, from the play ''Il paggio di Leicester'' (''Leicester's Page'') by C ...

'' (ORC22) *''

Ermione ''Ermione'' (1819) is a tragic opera (azione tragica) in two acts by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola, based on the play ''Andromaque'' by Jean Racine. Performance history 19th century ''Ermione'' was first pe ...

'' (ORC42) *''

La donna del lago ''La donna del lago'' (English: ''The Lady of the Lake'') is an opera composed by Gioachino Rossini with a libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola (whose verses are described as "limpid" by one critic) based on the French translationOsborne, Charles 19 ...

'' (ORC34) *''

Otello ''Otello'' () is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Arrigo Boito, based on Shakespeare's play ''Othello''. It was Verdi's penultimate opera, first performed at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan, on 5 February 1887. Th ...

'' (ORC18) *''

Ricciardo e Zoraide ''Ricciardo e Zoraide'' (''Ricciardo and Zoraide'') is an opera in two acts by Gioachino Rossini to an Italian libretto by Francesco Berio di Salsa. The text is based on cantos XIV and XV of '' Il Ricciardetto'', an epic poem by Niccolò Forte ...

'' (ORC14)* *''

'' (ORC57) *''

Zelmira ''Zelmira'' () is an opera in two acts by Gioachino Rossini to a libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola. Based on the French play, ''Zelmire'' by de Belloy, it was the last of the composer's Neapolitan operas. Stendhal called its music Teutonic, compa ...

'' (ORC27) Thomas *''

La cour de Célimène ''La cour de Célimène'' (''The Court of Célimène''), also known as ''Les douze'' (''The dozen'') is an opéra comique in two acts by French composer Ambroise Thomas. The original French libretto was by Joseph-Bernard Rosier (1804–1880). The ...

'' (ORC37)*

References

External links

Opera Rara website
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