“Monsieur Donizetti seems to treat us like a conquered country,” wrote Hector Berlioz in his review of the premiere of La Fille du régiment at the Opéra-Comique in 1840. “It is a veritable invasion.” Berlioz was only exaggerating slightly. By the time he reached his peak, Gaetano Donizetti was in demand across Europe. In just over 25 years, the prolific composer wrote over 70 operas, at one point having works running simultaneously in four Parisian opera houses. No wonder Berlioz felt threatened.
Donizetti was born in Bergamo on 29th November 1797. He came from poor stock – his father was the caretaker of a municipal pawnshop – but he entered music school at the age of nine, where he studied with Giovanni Simone Mayr, musical director of Santa Maria Maggiore, Bergamo’s chief church. Mayr was also a significant composer and secured funding for Donizetti to continue his education in Bologna and he eventually recommended him to the music publisher, Ricordi.
The success of his ninth opera, Zoraida di Granata, and a letter of recommendation by Mayr opened doors to Naples, impressing Domenico Barbaja, the intendant of the Teatro San Carlo, who contracted Donizetti in 1822 to produce up to four operas per year. It wasn’t until his 31st opera, though, that he hit the international big time with Anna Bolena, which premiered at La Scala in 1830.
Another major success was Lucia di Lammermoor in 1835. A few days before the premiere, Vincenzo Bellini, Donizetti’s bel canto rival, had died and, following Rossini’s early retirement from the stage, the field was clear for Donizetti to dominate the Italian opera scene. He was a hugely important composer, whose dramatic style essentially paved the way for Giuseppe Verdi.
In 1837, Donizetti’s wife Virginia Vasseli died after the stillbirth of a son (none of their three children had survived). Donizetti never got over the loss. In 1838, following the failure to get Poliuto past the Neapolitan censors, Donizetti set out to conquer Paris, turning Poliuto into Les Martyrs and writing La Fille du régiment, La Favorite and Don Pasquale among others. Vienna also beckoned, thanks to his friend Bartolomeo Merelli, who was the director of the Kärnthnerthor Theater and secured a post for him as official composer to the Emperor.
By then, however, Donizetti was in the grip of syphilis, the disease which would eventually kill him. His last completed opera was Dom Sébastien, Roi de Portugal (1843), after which his mental health spiralled and he was admitted to a private asylum near Paris. He was finally taken back to Bergamo by his nephew Andrea, and died on 18th April 1848.
1Lucia di Lammermoor
Based on Sir Walter Scott’s novel The Bride of Lammermoor, Donizetti’s opera tells the story of Lucia, caught in a feud between her brother, Enrico, and her lover Edgardo. Forced to marry against her will, the wedding night gets messy when Lucia kills him, leading to what is regarded as one of the greatest ‘mad scenes’ in all opera, a vehicle for star sopranos. The taxing solo is usually accompanied by a solo flute, although Donizetti originally scored the scene for the eerie sound of the glass harmonica, as performed below.
2L’elisir d’amore
L’elisir is opera’s greatest romcom: peasant Nemorino (“little nobody”) is in love with wealthy landowner Adina, but she is indifferent and promises herself to Sergeant Belcore instead. When Nemorino asks quack Doctor Dulcamara for a love potion, he flogs him a bottle of cheap Bordeaux. Will Nemorino and Adina get together? Of course they will…
3Anna Bolena
Tudor history was fertile ground for bel canto composers. Donizetti wrote four operas featuring Tudor queens (writers often forget Il castello di Kenilworth). Anna Bolena is concerned with Henry VIII’s second wife, Anne Boleyn, and his affair with Giovanna (Jane Seymour). Falsely accused of adultery and treason, Anna is sent to the Tower of London where, in the final scene, she heads to her execution.
4Maria Stuarda
Based on Schiller’s historical play, Maria Stuarda revolves around the fiery – and entirely fictitious – confrontation between Elizabeth I and her cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots (Mary Stuart). Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, is secretly in love with Mary, but when Elizabeth finds out, Mary’s fate is sealed. Yes, another execution…
5Roberto Devereux
Donizetti’s final Tudor opera fast forwards to later in Elizabeth’s reign and the conflict between love and duty. Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, is the queen’s favourite, but has been condemned for treason and is awaiting trial. Robert is secretly in love with Sara, Duchess of Nottngham. Political manoeuvring and a ring that doesn’t get delivered in time and… you guessed it, the chopping block beckons for Robert as the aged Elizabeth despairs, longing for her own death.
6La Fille du régiment
An opéra-comique composed for Paris, La Fille du régiment is full of frothy fun. Marie, is an orphan, raised by a regiment of the French army. She falls in love with Tyrolean lad Tonio, but it is discovered that she is the long-lost daughter of a French Marquise, who wants to marry her off to the Duke of Krakenthorp. Thankfully, her ‘fathers’ in the regiment team up with Tonio to save the day. The opera is super silly, but contains some wonderful music, including Tonio’s cabaletta “Ah, mes amis” which featured nine top Cs, a showpiece for many a tenor.
7Lucrezia Borgia
This opera brings respite for the executioner, but ends in a mass poisoning. Based on a Victor Hugo play, Lucrezia Borgia is a tale of suspicion and vengeance. Gennaro and his friends despise the Borgias, unaware that Lucrezia is his mother. The Duke of Ferrara suspects Lucrezia of adultery and sentences Gennaro to death. Believing he has fled Venice, Lucrezia takes revenge on Gennaro’s friends by poisoning their wine… only to discover her son was at the party. Cue a stage full of dead bodies.
8La Favorite
La Favorite was Donizetti’s hasty reworking of the unperformed L’Ange de Nisida to keep the director of the Paris Opéra, Léon Pillet, happy – the opera Donizetti had been working on didn’t contain a role for Pillet’s mistress. The opera concerns a romantic entanglement of Alfonso XI, King of Castile, his mistress, the ‘favourite’ Leonora, and Fernand, a novice monk.
9Les Martyrs
Les Martyrs was Donizetti’s French reworking of Poliuto, which had been banned in Naples for depicting a Christian martyrdom on stage. The opera concerns Pauline, torn between her husband, a secret Christian convert, and Sévère, her former lover and now the Roman proconsul. Polyeucte is sentenced to die and, at the very last moment, Pauline joins him in the Roman amphitheatre. The libretto ends with the epic stage instruction: “A roar is heard. The lions are about to attack.”
I well remember Opera Rara’s concert performance in London and Michael Spyres’ pinging out a high E at the end of his cabaletta:
10Don Pasquale
Don Pasquale, an old bachelor, disapproves of his nephew’s choice of bride, Norina, and wants to disinherit him by getting married himself. Pasquale’s friend, Dr Malatesta, suggests his docile sister, Sofronia as a suitable candidate. Pasquale is delighted, completely unaware that his new wife is Norina is disguise and she is about to teach the old man a harsh lesson or two. One of the highlights of this comic opera is the patter duet between Pasquale and Malatesta as they hatch a plan to take revenge on “Sofronia”.
