''Pia de' Tolomei'' 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 two 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 Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

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 Bartolomeo Sestini's verse novella '' Pia de' Tolomei'', which was based on Canto V, vv. 130–136 from

Dante Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

's narrative poem ''

The Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' (, ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun and completed around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of the greatest wor ...

'' part 2: ''

Purgatorio ''Purgatorio'' (; Italian for "Purgatory") is the second part of Dante's ''Divine Comedy'', following the ''Inferno (Dante), Inferno'' and preceding the ''Paradiso (Dante), Paradiso''; it was written in the early 14th century. It is an alleg ...

''. It premiered on 18 February 1837 at the

Teatro Apollo The Tor di Nona is a neighborhood in Rome's ''rioni of Rome, rione'' ''Ponte (rione of Rome), Ponte''. It lies in the heart of the city's historic center, between the ''Via dei Coronari'' and the Tiber River. Its name commemorates the Torre dell'A ...

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

Composition history

Background Pia de' Tolomei is a tragic figure whom Dante encountered in

Purgatory In Christianity, Purgatory (, borrowed into English language, English via Anglo-Norman language, Anglo-Norman and Old French) is a passing Intermediate state (Christianity), intermediate state after physical death for purifying or purging a soul ...

. Her story was so familiar to Dante's readers that an understated

allusion Allusion, or alluding, is a figure of speech that makes a reference to someone or something by name (a person, object, location, etc.) without explaining how it relates to the given context, so that the audience must realize the connection in the ...

was enough to call it to mind:

Performance history

19th century Donizetti agreed to write ''Pia de' Tolomei'' for 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 ...

in Venice and began composing it in October 1836 before the premiere of ''

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 libr ...

'' in Naples in November. In early December he left for Venice, but was delayed in

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

by an eighteen-day quarantine due to a

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

epidemic and while there learned that the Teatro La Fenice had been destroyed by fire on 12 December. Since the directors felt the production would have to be canceled, they wanted him to take a substantial reduction in his fee. After this news Donizetti originally intended to return to Naples, but having just signed a contract to purchase a new home prior to leaving Naples, he changed his mind and decided to proceed directly to Venice to see what could be done. After arriving he was able to reach an agreement with La Fenice's management and its impresario, Alessandro Lanari, to perform ''Pia de' Tolomei'' in early February at another theatre in Venice, the

, where La Fenice's season had been transferred. The opening was delayed when bass Celestino Salvatori, who had been scheduled to sing the role of Nello della Pietra, became ill, and Donizetti had to rewrite the part for the baritone

Giorgio Ronconi Giorgio Ronconi (6 August 1810 – 8 January 1890) was an Italian operatic baritone celebrated for his brilliant acting and compelling stage presence. In 1842, he created the title-role in Giuseppe Verdi's ''Nabucco'' at La Scala, Milan. Personal ...

. The opera finally opened on 18 February, and Donizetti wrote a letter to a friend that "''Pia'' pleased altogether, except for the first act finale." In fact, that finale had been "greeted with whistles of disapproval".Osborne 1994, p. 257. Donizetti revised the opera with Cammarano's help in the spring of 1837, and this version was performed on 31 July 1837 in the Adriatic resort of Sinigaglia. Donizetti revised it a second time with the help of an unknown librettist for the

Teatro Argentina The Teatro Argentina (directly translating to "Theatre Argentina") is an opera house and theatre located in Largo di Torre Argentina, a square in Rome, Italy. One of the oldest theatres in Rome, it was constructed in 1731 and inaugurated on 31 ...

in Rome, where it was performed in May 1838 with the soprano

Giuseppina Strepponi Clelia Maria Giuseppa (Giuseppina) Strepponi (Lodi, Lombardy, Lodi, 8 September 1815 – Villanova sull'Arda, 14 November 1897) was a nineteenth-century Italian operatic soprano of great renown and the second wife of composer Giuseppe Verdi ...

(the future wife of

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, a small town in the province of Parma, to a family of moderate means, recei ...

) in the title role. It was finally performed on 30 September 1838 in Naples, but under the condition that Pia did not die. It was not well received over its ten performances, and was revived at the end of 1839.Black 1982, p. 38 The opera was performed in Milan and Florence in 1839 (as well as some other Italian theatres), Barcelona in 1844, Lisbon in 1847, and Malta in 1854–1855, after which it fell from the repertory. 20th century and beyond A revival took place on 3 September 1967 at the Teatro dei Rinnovati in

Siena Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...

, a production which was also staged in Bologna in March of the following year. It was given a concert performance on 26 February 1978 at the

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 ...

in London. Among other performances, the opera was staged at La Fenice in 2005, by

English Touring Opera English Touring Opera (ETO) is an opera company in the United Kingdom founded in 1979 under the name Opera 80 by the then-existing Arts Council of Great Britain. In 1992 the company changed to its present name. Today it is sponsored in part by A ...

in 2016, and received its US premiere at the

Spoleto Festival The ''Festival dei Due Mondi'' (Festival of the Two Worlds) is an annual summer music and opera festival held each June to early July in Spoleto, Italy, since its founding by composer Gian Carlo Menotti in 1958. It features a vast array of conc ...

in May 2018.

Roles

Synopsis

:Place: Siena :Time: 1260 Ghino has fallen in love with Pia, wife of his cousin Nello, a

Ghibelline The Guelphs and Ghibellines ( , ; ) were factions supporting the Pope (Guelphs) and the Holy Roman Emperor (Ghibellines) in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy during the Middle Ages. During the 12th and 13th centu ...

lord. When she refuses his love, as revenge Ghino informs Nello that he has discovered a secret message (found by the mischievous servant Ubaldo) proving that Pia has an adulterous relation. It tells of a secret meeting to be held between Pia and her lover. Ghino goes to the place described in the message, and does find Pia with a man. Ghino does not know that the man is not her lover but her brother Rodrigo, a

Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as The Royal City, it is roughly east of Kitchener, Ontario, Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Ontario Highway 6, ...

, whom she is helping to escape from Nello's prison. Rodrigo manages to escape, but Pia is captured and imprisoned. Ghino again offers her his love, promising to give her freedom in exchange; but the woman still refuses. Impressed by Pia's virtue and informed of the true identity of her alleged lover, Ghino repents and, mortally wounded in battle, reveals the truth to Nello. However, Nello had already given to his servant Ubaldo the order to kill Pia by poisoning. Nello rushes to stop the servant, but it is too late: he finds his wife is dying. On her deathbed, Pia forgives her husband, and effects a reconciliation between him and Rodrigo. hen it was finally accepted for performances at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples on 30 September 1838, it was with the requirement that Pia not die.]

Recordings

References

Notes Cited sources * Alighieri,

. ''La Commedia secondo l'antica vulgata a cura di Giorgio Petrocchi''. Edizione Nazionale a cura della Società Dantesca Italiana. ilano Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, 1966–1967. * Ashbrook, William (1982). ''Donizetti and His Operas''. Cambridge University Press., . * Ashbrook, William (1998), "''Pia de' Tolomei''" in

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 ...

, (Ed.), ''

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 ...

'', Vol. Three, pp. 997–998. London: Macmillan Publishers, Inc. * Ashbrook, William and Hibberd, Sarah (2001), "Gaetano Donizetti", in

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 ...

(Ed.), ''The New Penguin Opera Guide''. New York: Penguin Putnam. . * Barwick, Linda (2005), ''“An ample and very poetical narrative”: the vicissitudes of “La Pia” between the literary and oral traditions''. In M. Baker, F. Coassin & D. Glenn (Eds.), ''Flinders Dante Conferences, 2002 & 2004'' (pp. 77–101). Adelaide: Lythrum Press. * Black, John (1982), ''Donizetti’s Operas in Naples, 1822—1848''. London: The Donizetti Society. * Cammarano, Salvatore. ''Pia de' Tolomei: Tragedia lirica in two acts''. Music: Gaetano Donizetti, libretto by Salvatore Cammarano. In «Tutti i libretti di Donizetti», a cura di Egidio Saracino. Milano: Garzanti, 1993, pp. 893–907. Also published electronically at (accessed 20 February 2005). * Marenco, Carlo. ''Tragedie inedite di Carlo Marenco, aggiuntevi la Pia de' Tolomei, tragedia''. Firenze,: Felice Le Monnier, 1856. * Osborne, Charles (1994), ''The Bel Canto Operas of Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini''. Portland, Oregon: Amadeus Press. . * Sestini, Bartolomeo. ''La Pia: una leggenda romantica''. Roma: Stamperia Ajani, 1822. *

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 Stanley Sadie, (Ed.), ''

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 t ...

'', 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. . Online sources
Libretto
Italian)
Programme
for the 2005 production of ''Pia de' Tolomei'' at the

with essays and illustrations (Italian)

External links

* {{Authority control Italian-language operas Operas by Gaetano Donizetti Operas 1837 operas Operas based on novels Operas set in Italy Works based on Purgatorio Operas based on the Divine Comedy Operas based on real people