- Maria Padilla
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For the historical figure which inspired the opera, see María de 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 December 26, 1841 at La Scala, Milan. The plot is loosely based on the historical figure María de Padilla, the mistress of Pedro the Cruel, King of Castile.
Contents
Roles
Role Voice type Premiere Cast, 26 December 1841
(Conductor: Eugenio Cavallini)Donna Maria Padilla, Ruiz' daughter[1] soprano Sophie Löwe Donna Ines Padilla, Ruiz' daughter soprano Luigia Abbadia Don Pedro, prince of Castile baritone Giorgio Ronconi Don Ruiz di Padilla tenor Domenico Donzelli Don Ramiro, duke of Albequerque bass Gaetano Rossi Francisca mezzo-soprano Teresa Ruggeri Don Luigi, count of Aguillar tenor Ranieri Pochini Don Alfonso di Pardo bass Agostino Berini Bianca di Francia silent Gentlemen, Castilian and French dignitaries, hunters, vassals of Padilla, guards, Castilian and French pages Synopsis
Sophie Löwe, who created the role of Maria Padilla
- Place: Castile
- Time: 14th century
Maria tells her sister Ines that she hopes to marry Don Pedro, the ruler of Castile. When he sneaks into her room disguised as Mendez, Maria tells him that she knows his true identity and demands marriage to save her honour. Don Pedro acquiesces, although the marriage must be kept secret. After their elopement, a faction of the Don Pedro's court wants him marry Bianca, a Bourbon princess, in order to avoid a civil war. He appears to be negotiating this, despite his secret marriage to Maria.
Meanwhile, Maria's father, Don Ruiz di Padilla, appears at the court. Believing that she is merely Don Pedro's mistress, he challenges the prince to a duel, but is led away in disgrace. Maria visits her father and tries to explain that she is the secret wife of Don Pedro, but her father refuses to listen.
Much to Maria's horror, Bianca arrives at the court, and is welcomed by Maria's enemies there as Don Pedro's bride and their queen. Instead, Don Pedro proclaims Maria as his queen and she dies of joy. (In the original ending which was changed by the censors, Maria grabbed the crown from Bianca's head and then committed suicide.[2])
Recordings
Year Cast
(Maria, Ines, Ruiz, Pedro)Conductor,
Opera House and OrchestraLabel[3] 1980 Lois McDonall,
Della Jones,
Graham Clark,
Christian du PlessisAlun Francis
London Symphony Orchestra and Geoffrey Mitchell ChoirAudio CD: Opera Rara
Cat: ORC61990 Renée Fleming,
Stella Zambalis,
Hans Gregory Ashbaker,
Motti KastonJohn DeMain
Opera/Omaha Orchestra and Chorus
(Recording of a performance in the Auditorium of the Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, Nebraska, September)Audio CD: Premiere Opera
Cat: CDNO 8932References
- Notes
- ^ Premiere cast and conductor from Casaglia
- ^ Ashbrook (1983), p. 572
- ^ Source of recording on operadis-opera-discography.org.uk
- Sources
- Ashbrook, William, Donizetti and His Operas, Cambridge University Press, 1983, ISBN 0-521-27663-2
- Casaglia, Gherardo, "26 Dicembre 1841", Almanacco Amadeus. Accessed 22 September 2009.
- Holden, Amanda (Ed.), The New Penguin Opera Guide, New York: Penguin Putnam, 2001. ISBN 0-140-29312-4
- Osborne, Charles, The Bel Canto Operas of Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini, Portland, Oregon: Amadeus Press, 1994 ISBN 0931340713
- Weinstock, Herbert, Donizetti and the World of Opera in Italy, Paris, and Vienna in the First Half of the Nineteenth Century, New York: Pantheon Books, 1963. ISBN 63-13703
External links
- Libretto (Italian)
Categories:- Italian-language operas
- Operas by Gaetano Donizetti
- 1842 operas
- Operas
- La Scala world premieres
- Operas set in Iberia
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