- Il Pigmalione
Il Pigmalione ("Pygmalion") is an
opera in one act byGaetano Donizetti to thelibretto ofAntonio Simeone Sografi .Creation and performance history
"Il Pigmalione", a drama in one act ("dramma in un atto"), is the first opera that Donizetti composed. It was written between September and October, 1816, when the composer was 19.
The plot is based on on the famous story of a king and
sculptor , Pygmalion, originally taken from the tenth book of the "Metamorphoses" byOvid . Pigmalione, dismayed that he may never find in real life the ideal of feminine beauty, creates a sculpture of it himself. Having fallen in love with his own creation, Pigmalione's pray for the sculpture (christened Galatea)'s animation is answered by Venus. This popular story had already been adapted for a musical play byJean-Jacques Rousseau in 1770. Donizetti set thelibretto by Sografi, first written for anopera byGiovanni Batiste Cimador (1790) and also used for an opera byBonifacio Asioli (1796).It is believed that Donizetti's opera did not receive its premiere until
October 13 ,1960 , when it was performed at the XVII "Festival delle novità" at theTeatro Donizetti in the composer’s home town ofBergamo ,Italy . It was conducted by Armando Gatto. The role of Pigmalione was performed by Dario Antonioli, and the role of Galatea by Oriana Santunione, soprano.Roles
The first lines
PIGMALIONE: :Anche spirto né vita più darvi non poss'io:dove sei genio mio:che mai sei divenuto misero mio talento!
elected recordings
*Donizetti: Rita, Il Pigmalione, L'Olimpiade, etc / Maestri CD:Singers: Susanna Rigacci (soprano), Paolo Pellegrini (tenor):In Canto Association Chamber Orchestra, Fabio Maestri (conductor):
Teatro Verdi ,Terni :Live recording, September 1990External links
* [http://www.karadar.com/Librettos/donizetti_pigmalione.html Libretto]
* [http://www.italianopera.org/donizetti/opere16.html Information and libretto (Italian)]
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