Fausta (opera)
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| Title: | Fausta |
Title page of the libretto, Naples 1832 |
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| Shape: | Opera seria in two acts |
| Original language: | Italian |
| Music: | Gaetano Donizetti |
| Libretto : | Domenico Gilardoni , Gaetano Donizetti |
| Premiere: | January 12, 1832 |
| Place of premiere: | Teatro San Carlo , Naples |
| Playing time: | approx. 2 ¾ hours |
| Place and time of the action: | Rome , at the time of Emperor Constantine |
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Fausta is an opera seria (original name: "melo-dramma") in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti . The heroine of the title is Fausta , the wife of Emperor Constantine the Great . Most of the libretto was written by Domenico Gilardoni ; after his death Donizetti completed the libretto himself. Fausta was first performed on January 12, 1832 in the Teatro San Carlo in Naples .
action
first act
Fausta, the wife of Emperor Constantine (Costantino), loves her stepson Crispo. For his part, he loves Beroe, a Gallic princess who was brought to Rome as a prisoner. He is dismayed when Fausta asks him to forget Beroe and become her lover, otherwise she will have Beroe killed. At the moment when Crispo falls on his knees to beg Fausta for Beroe's life, Costantino enters. Fausta turns the situation around and explains that Crispo wanted to approach her. Angry, Costantino sends his son into exile.
Crispo learns that his and his father's lives are in danger: Fausta's father and the former co-regent Costantinos Massimiano are planning his return to power and want to have both killed. Crispo plans to kill the conspirator to regain his father's favor.
Second act
Beroe meets Crispo to convince himself of his innocence. Massimiano discovers them and calls Costantino over. Due to a misunderstanding, Crispo attacks his own father instead of the conspirator. He sees himself confirmed in his suspicion that his son is planning his downfall. Crispo is brought to justice, which sentences him to death.
Beroe seeks out Fausta and gives her to understand that she is informed about her guilt and hopes Fausta avert Crispo's death. Fausta, however, offers Crispo to free him if he would flee with her. Crispo refuses indignantly, he would rather lose his life than his honor, with poison he wants to escape the shame of being executed.
Fausta snatches the poison from him and swallows it herself, aware of her guilt. In the meantime Costantino has learned of the plot and wants to pardon Crispo - too late, he has already been beheaded. Before Fausta dies, she maliciously reveals to Costantino that Crispo has never behaved dishonorably towards her.
Work history
Donizetti composed Fausta in 1831 for his girlfriend from previous years, the soprano Giuseppina Ronzi de Begnis , who was also a guest in Naples at the time.
Giuseppina Ronzi de Begnis (Fausta), Giovanni Bassadonna (Crispo), Antonio Tamburini (Costantino), Virginia Eden (Beroe), Giovanni Battista Campagnoli (Massimiano), Edvige Ricci sang at the premiere on January 12, 1832 at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples (Licinia) and Giovanni Revalden (Albino). The conductor was Nicola Festa. Pasquale Canna and Leopoldo Galluzzi were responsible for the set design.
The opera was well received in Naples, as well as in Milan, where it was performed eleven months later to mark the opening of the Carnival season and about thirty times later. For the Milan production Donizetti added a sinfonia (overture), for Giuditta Pasta and Domenico Donzelli , who sang the leading roles in Venice in 1833, he wrote the duet of the second act Per te rinunzio al soglio, and composed for the performances in Turin shortly afterwards for Crispo the aria M'ascolti e mi condanni and for the Milanese production of 1841 Donizetti added a new scene at the beginning of the first act.
After these initial successes - the last performance in the 19th century took place in Milan in 1859 - the opera disappeared from the repertoire; It was not until December 1, 1981, that Fausta was performed and recorded by the Choir and Orchestra del Teatro dell'Opera di Roma under the direction of Daniel Oren . Rajna Kabaiwanska (Fausta) and Renato Bruson (Costantino) sang among others . There are currently (2014) no studio recordings.
literature
- Robert Steiner-Isenmann: Gaetano Donizetti. His life and his operas. Hallwag, Bern 1982, ISBN 3-444-10272-0 .
- Booklet for the opera, live recording from 1981.
Web links
- Fausta : Sheet music and audio files in the International Music Score Library Project
- Libretto (Italian), Naples 1832. Digitized at Google Books
- Fausta (Gaetano Donizetti) in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna
Individual evidence
- ↑ January 12, 1832: "Fausta". In: L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia ., Accessed on August 3, 2019.