''Belisario'' (''Belisarius'') is a ''tragedia lirica'' (tragic

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

) in three acts by

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

Salvadore Cammarano Salvadore Cammarano (19 March 1801 – 17 July 1852) was an Italian librettist and playwright perhaps best known for writing the text of ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' (1835) for Gaetano Donizetti. For Donizetti he also contributed the libretti for ''L ...

wrote the Italian

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) 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 th ...

after Luigi Marchionni's adaptation of play, ''Belisarius'', first staged in Munich in 1820 and then (in Italian) in Naples in 1826. The plot is loosely based on the life of the famous general

Belisarius BelisariusSometimes called Flavia gens#Later use, Flavius Belisarius. The name became a courtesy title by the late 4th century, see (; ; The exact date of his birth is unknown. March 565) was a military commander of the Byzantine Empire under ...

of the 6th century

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

. It premiered to critical and popular success on 4 February

1836 Events January–March * January 1 — Hill Street Academy is named Colombo Academy and acquired by the Government, establishing the first public school in Sri Lanka. * January 1 – Queen Maria II of Portugal marries Prince Ferdinand ...

at the

Teatro La Fenice Teatro La Fenice (; "The Phoenix (mythology), Phoenix Theatre") is a historic opera house in Venice, Italy. It is one of "the most famous and renowned landmarks in the history of Italian theatre" and in the history of opera as a whole. Especial ...

, Venice, and was given many additional performances that season,Osborne 1994, pp. 245–248 although Donizetti scholar

William Ashbrook William Ashbrook (January 28, 1922 – March 31, 2009) was an American musicologist, writer, journalist, and academic. He was perhaps best noted as a historian, researcher and popularizer of the works of Italian opera composer Gaetano Donizetti. ...

notes that there would have been more had the opera not been presented so late in the season. However, in spite of its initial short-term success and critical reaction, as represented by a review in ''La Gazzetta privilegiata'' which stated that "A new masterwork has been added to Italian music...''Belisario'' not only pleased and delighted, but also conquered, enflamed and ravished the full auditorium", in the long run, had "Donizetti poured music of the calibre of his ''

Lucia di Lammermoor ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' () is a (tragic opera) in three acts by Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian-language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's 1819 historical novel '' The Bride of Lammermoor''. ...

'' into the score of ''Belisario'' the shortcomings of its wayward plot and dramatic structure would matter less".Osborne, 1994, p. 247 By April 1836, even the composer himself recognized that the work stood below ''Lucia'' in accomplishment.

Composition history

With the success of ''Lucia di Lammermoor'' in September 1835, Donizetti moved on to stagings of ''

Maria Stuarda ''Maria Stuarda'' (Mary Stuart) is a tragic opera (''tragedia lirica''), in two acts, by Gaetano Donizetti, to a libretto by Giuseppe Bardari, based on Andrea Maffei's translation of Friedrich Schiller's 1800 play '' Maria Stuart''. The opera ...

'', the first under that name at La Scala in late 1835. He had signed the contract in July 1835 to present ''Belisario'' in Venice, for what would be the first visit to that city since 1819, but it was not until October that the subject was finally agreed upon. There followed discussions with impresario Natale Fabbrici about employing a Venetian librettist, Pietro Beltrame. However, not only did the composer prefer to work with a librettist known to him and with whom he could work in close proximity,Commons 2013, pp. 12–14: "It would be imprudent to have the poet so far removed from the maestro" Donizetti had noted in a letter of 24 October. but he had already begun working with Cammarano who was revising – to the composer's satisfaction – an earlier version of ''Belisario'' which the librettist had submitted to 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 a historic opera house in Naples, Italy, connected to the Royal Palace and a ...

management in 1832. Of greater concern to Donizetti was the singers who were to be engaged. Primarily, he was concerned about the identity of the leading tenor: "Until I know for sure, I cannot compose duets, finales and trios", he writes in October. By the time Donizetti arrived in Venice on 6 January 1836, the score of ''Belisario'' was almost finished, and because of delays, he had time to hear several of the proposed singers in a performance of Rossini's ''

L'assedio di Corinto ''Besieged'' (Italian title: ''L'assedio'') is a 1998 film by Bernardo Bertolucci starring Thandie Newton and David Thewlis. The film is based on the short story "The Siege" by James Lasdun and was supposed to be a 60-minute teleplay until Bertolu ...

'' given on 12 January, the day before rehearsals of ''Belisario'' were to begin. In the case of Antonietta Vial (who was to sing the role of Irene and whom he described on first hearing her as "both a bastard soprano and a veiled contralto", he was able to make adjustments to suit her vocal limitations. By the time of the first performance, which was well received, Donizetti reported to his publisher the audience's reaction to most of the numbers, specifically that "in the duet for Vial and Salvatore, many shouts of ''bravi'', but at the end (so they say) the situation is so moving that they were weeping". In a review of a 2011 London performance, some of the strengths of Donizetti's score are outlined:

The central couple are played by bass and soprano, which brings Verdi's ''Macbeth'' immediately to mind. But Donizetti's score has none of Verdi's furious compression, and dramatically we are in very different territory. Belisario and Antonina, the latter more Regan than Lady Macbeth, are at each others' throats rather than united by desire for power. Her machinations lead to his being blinded then expelled from Byzantium into the natural world beyond. The emotional centre lies, however, in Donizetti's forceful depiction of Belisario's relationship with his strong-willed daughter Irene – you think at once of Cordelia – and his eventual reunion with Alamiro, the son who vanished in infancy and in whose supposed murder Belisario is implicated.

Performance history

19th century The opera's popularity continued through the 19th century, with stagings in 31 cities both in Europe and America. Its first performance in London took place on 1 April 1837, but it only reached the United States on 29 July 1843 in Philadelphia and later in New York on 14 February 1844. After an 1899 performance in

Koblenz Koblenz ( , , ; Moselle Franconian language, Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz'') is a German city on the banks of the Rhine (Middle Rhine) and the Moselle, a multinational tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman Empire, Roman military p ...

, the opera disappeared. 20th century and beyond Modern productions have been rare. Revivals took place in 1969 at La Fenice, in 1970 at Bergamo, in 1972 in London, in 1973 in Naples, in 1981 in Buenos Aires, and in 1990 at

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

in New Jersey. Most notable amongst performers in the leading female role has been Leyla Gencer. The opera was presented in January 2005 by the North Carolina School for Arts using a then brand-new performance score prepared by Ottavio Sbragia. Realizing close to the beginning of rehearsals that a performance score was not available, NCSA enlisted the help of musicologist

Philip Gossett Philip Gossett (September 27, 1941 – June 12, 2017) was an American musicologist and historian, and Robert W. Reneker Distinguished Service Professor of Music at the University of Chicago. His lifelong interest in 19th-century Italian opera bega ...

, who was able to put them in touch with Sbragia, and his version, which was based on the original 1836 performances in Venice, became the work's critical edition. The same year saw stagings by Turkish State Opera and Ballet in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. In July 2010, the opera was performed by the Buenos Aires Lirica and a concert performance, starring

Nelly Miricioiu Nelly Miricioiu (born 31 March 1952) is a Romanian-born British operatic soprano singing a large repertoire ranging from bel canto to verismo. Biography Born in Adjud, Romania, Miricioiu started singing at 5 and was hailed as a child prodigy. At ...

with London's Chelsea Opera Group under conductor

Richard Bonynge Richard Alan Bonynge ( ) (born 29 September 1930) is an Australian conductor and pianist. He is the widower of Australian dramatic coloratura soprano Dame Joan Sutherland. Bonynge conducted virtually all of Sutherland's operatic performances ...

, was given at

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

on 13 February 2011 ''Belisario'' was given a new production at the Teatro Donizetti in Bergamo as part of the Donizetti Festival in September 2012 using the critical edition, while 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. The ...

presented a concert performance in London on 28 October 2012 with Canadian soprano Joyce El-Khoury as Antonina and Sicilian baritone Nicola Alaimo as the title character. "''Belisario'', BBC Symphony Orchestra, Mark Elder, Barbican"
by Michael Church, ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' (London), 29 October 2012. Retrieved 30 October 2012 The cast recorded the opera for

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 ...

Roles

Synopsis

:Place: Byzantium and the Haemus mountains. :Time: sixth century A.D.

Act 1

Il Trionfo (Triumph) ''The hall in the emperor's palace'' Irene and the populace greet the victor Belisarius. Antonina hates her husband because Proclus, the slave of Belisarius, has confessed on his deathbed, that upon command of his master he had exposed her son on the shore of the ocean, thus causing his death. The Emperor

Justinian Justinian I (, ; 48214 November 565), also known as Justinian the Great, was Roman emperor from 527 to 565. His reign was marked by the ambitious but only partly realized ''renovatio imperii'', or "restoration of the Empire". This ambition was ...

greets his commander and grants his prayer for the release of the prisoners. The captive, Alamiro, who adores Belisarius, refuses to leave him (Recitative and duet: ''Che veggio!... Il don sprezzi forse, Alamiro?'' / "What do I see, you Alamiro reject my gift?"). The general adopts him in place of his long lost son. Irene congratulates her father, but Antonina has already begun her work of hate, by traducing Belisarius to Justinian, and the innocent man is accused of high treason and thrown into prison on the evidence of his wife.

Act 2

L'Esilio (Exile) ''Before the prison'' Alamiro and his friends lament the fate of Belisarius, whose eyes have been put out by his enemies, falsely construing and disobeying the commands of the emperor. Alamiro swears vengeance (Aria: ''Trema, Bisanzio! sterminatrice, Su te la guerra discenderà'' / "Tremble, murderous Byzantium, war shall descend upon thee"). Irene clad as a youth arrives to act as guide to her father, who is about to be released from prison (Duet: ''Oh tu, che della eterna, orribil notte'' /"Oh thou, who in terrible darkness").

Act 3

La Morte (Death) ''In the mountains'' As the clang of weapons is heard, Irene leads Belisarius to a cave for safety. Alamiro now leads the army of the Alanni against Byzantium to avenge Belisarius. Belisarius confronts him and recognizes him as his son through an amulet. At his father's request, the son leaves the ranks of the enemies of Byzantium, and the Alanni, now under the command of Ottavio, march to Byzantium, having no fear, as the emperor's army is bereft of its leader. ''Hall in Byzantium'' Antonina, in remorse, tells the emperor that her testimony against Belisarius was false. Irene approaches with news of the victory and informs Antonina that Alamiro is her son, and that it was the slave, not Belisarius, who had planned his death. Meanwhile, the blind Belisarius has led the Byzantine army and defeated the Alanni, who had threatened Byzantium, but an arrow has mortally wounded him. He is carried in dying, and the sorrowing emperor promises to be a father to Alamiro and Irene.

Recordings

References

Notes Cited sources * Ashbrook, William (1982), ''Donizetti and His Operas''. Cambridge University Press. * Ashbrook, William (1992). "''Belisario''", vol. 1, pp. 384–385, in ''

The New Grove Dictionary of Opera ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' is an encyclopedia of opera. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volumes. The dictionary was first published in 1992 by Macmillan Reference, L ...

'', edited by

Stanley Sadie Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was a British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was published as the first edition ...

. London: Macmillan. . * Ashbrook, William; Hibberd, Sarah (2001). "Gaetano Donizetti", pp. 237 in ''The New Penguin Opera Guide'', edited by

Amanda Holden Amanda Louise Holden (born 16 February 1971) is an English media personality, actress and singer. Since 2007, she has been a judge on the television talent competition show '' Britain's Got Talent'' on ITV. She also co-hosts the national ''H ...

. New York: Penguin Putnam. . * Commons, Jeremy (2013), ''Belisario'': introductory essay in booklet accompanying the 2013 Opera Rara recording. * Osborne, Charles (1994). ''The Bel Canto Operas of Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini''. Portland, Oregon: Amadeus Press . *

Smart, Mary Ann Mary Ann Smart (29 March 1964 in Toronto) is a Canadian-born musicologist. Smart earned a doctorate from Cornell University and is the Terrill Professor of Music at the University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkel ...

;

Budden, Julian Julian Medforth Budden (9 April 1924 in Hoylake, Wirral – 28 February 2007 in Florence, Italy) was a British opera scholar, radio producer and broadcaster. He is particularly known for his three volumes on the operas of Giuseppe Verdi (publishe ...

(2001). "Donizetti, (Domenico) Gaetano (Maria)" in Sadie 2001. * 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.

opera.stanford.edu {{Authority control 1836 operas Works set in the 6th century Operas Operas by Gaetano Donizetti Italian-language operas Byzantine Empire in art and culture Opera world premieres at La Fenice Operas based on plays Works set in the Byzantine Empire Cultural depictions of Belisarius Cultural depictions of Justinian I