Poliuto

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Work data
Title: Poliuto
Title page of the libretto, Naples 1848

Title page of the libretto, Naples 1848

Shape: Opera in three acts
Original language: Italian
Music: Gaetano Donizetti
Libretto : Salvatore Cammarano
Literary source: Polyeucte by Pierre Corneilles
Premiere: November 30, 1848
Place of premiere: Teatro San Carlo , Naples
Playing time: approx. 2 ¼ hours
Place and time of the action: Armenia, AD 257
people
  • Severo, proconsul ( baritone )
  • Felice, governor ( bass )
  • Poliuto, judge ( tenor )
  • Paolina, his wife, daughter of the governor ( soprano )
  • Callistene, high priest of Jupiter (Bass)
  • Nearco, leader of the Christians (bass)
  • A christian (tenor)
  • Christians, judges, priests of Jupiter, Armenian people, Roman warriors ( chorus )

Poliuto is an opera in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti . The libretto was written by Salvatore Cammarano based on the tragedy Polyeucte by Pierre Corneille . The work was created in 1838. It was first performed on April 10, 1840 in Paris as Les Martyrs . The first performance of the original version took place posthumously on November 30, 1848 at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples .

content

Armenia at the time of the persecution of Christians: Poliuto secretly converted to Christianity. His wife Paolina, still a follower of the Jupiter cult , reproaches him for this. Severo, formerly Paolina's lover, comes to Armenia as proconsul to take action against the Christians. Poliuto believes his wife is cheating on him with Severo. When the Christian leader Nearco is brought to justice, Poliuto publicly professes Christianity. After Paolina asked Severo in vain for mercy for her husband, she also converts to Christianity to be martyred with Poliuto.

Instrumentation

The orchestral line-up for the opera includes the following instruments:

Work history

Because the libretto was objected to by the censors, Donizetti revised the work as Les Martyrs for the premiere at the Paris Opera , where it was performed on April 10, 1840 as Les Martyrs . Jean-Étienne-August Eugène Massol (Sévère), Julie Dorus-Gras (Pauline), Nicolas-Prosper Dérivis (Félix), Gilbert Duprez (Polyeucte), Jacques-Émil Serda (Callisthènes), Pierre-François Wartel (Néarque) , Molinier (1st Christian) and Carl Theodor Widemann (2nd Christian).

Les Martyrs was played in Hamburg and Vienna in 1841 and in Lisbon in 1843, before the posthumous premiere of the original version in the Teatro San Carlo in Naples on November 30, 1848 under the direction of Antonio Farelli . The singers there were Filippo Colini (Severo), Anafesto Rossi (Felice), Carlo Baucardé (Poliuto), Eugenia Savorani-Tadolini (Paolina), Marco Arati (Callistene) and Domenico Ceci (Nearco). The stage design came from Leopoldo Galluzzi.

In 1960, the original version was performed again at La Scala in Milan with Maria Callas as Paolina.

Recordings

  • December 7, 1960 (live from Milan, abridged mixed version): Antonino Votto (conductor), Herbert Graf (staging), orchestra and choir of the Teatro alla Scala . Ettore Bastianini (Severo), Rinaldo Pelizzoni (Felice), Franco Corelli (Poliuto), Maria Callas (Paolina), Nicola Zaccaria (Callistene), Piero de Palma (Nearco), Virgilio Carbonari and Giuseppe Morresi (One Christian). EMI CD: 565 4482, MELODRAM CD: MEL 26006 (2 CD), BJR LP: BJR 106 (2), Rodolphe MC: RPK 22715.
  • January 23, 1975 (live from London, French version Les Martyrs ): Leslie Head (conductor), Pro Opera Orchester and Chorus. John Tomlinson (Severo), Terence Sharp (Felice), Ian Thompson (Poliuto), Lois McDonnall (Paolina), Alan Watt (Callistene), James Anderson (Nearco). Unique Opera Records Corporation UORC 237 (2 LP), Omega Opera Archive 1728 (2 CD), Open Reel Tape - mr. tape 2706.
  • September 22, 1975 (live from Bergamo, French version Les Martyrs ): Adolfo Camozzo (conductor), orchestra and choir of the Teatro Donizetti di Bergamo. Renato Bruson (Severo), Luigi Roni (Felice), Mario di Felici (Poliuto), Leyla Gencer (Paolina), Vicenzo Sagona (Callistene), Renato Cazzaniga (Nearco). Myto CD: 972.154.
  • November 9, 1975 (live from Barcelona): Giuseppe Morelli (conductor), orchestra and choir of the Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona. Vicente Sardinero (Severo), Ferruccio Mazzoli (Felice), Amadeo Zambon (Poliuto), Leyla Gencer (Paolina), José Manzaneda (Nearco). House of Opera CDWW 422 (2 CD).
  • December 1977 (live from Naples): Francesco Molinari-Pradelli (conductor), orchestra and choir of the Teatro San Carlo Naples. Renato Bruson (Severo), Luigi Paolillo (Felice), Giorgio Lamberti (Poliuto), Adriana Maliponte (Paolina), Silvano Pagliuca (Callistene), Pier Francesco Poli (Nearco), Angelo Casertano (One Christian). Voce 60 (2 LP), Celestial Audio CA 140 (2 CD).
  • June 24, 1978 (live from Venice, French version Les Martyrs ): Gianluigi Gelmetti (conductor), orchestra and choir of the Teatro La Fenice Venice, Alberto Fassini (staging). Renato Bruson (Severo), Ferruccio Furlanetto (Felice), Ottavio Garaventa (Poliuto), Leyla Gencer (Paolina), Francesco Signor (Callistene), Oslavio di Credico (Nearco), Mario Guggia and Guido Fabbris (One Christian). IOR CD: LO 7716-18, Voce LP: Voce-16, Living Stage LS 1128 (3 CD).
  • 1986 (live, concert performance from Vienna, abridged mixed version): Oleg Caetani (conductor), Wiener Symphoniker , Wiener Akademiechor. Joan Pons (Severo), Harry Peeters (Felice), Josep Carreras (Poliuto), Katia Ricciarelli (Paolina), László Polgár (Callistene), Paolo Gavanelli (Nearco), Jorge Pita (A Christian). Legato CD: LCD 129-2 (CD), CBS: M2K 44821.
  • July 18, 1987 (live, in concert from Montpellier): Cyril Diederich (conductor), Orchester de Montpellier. Vincenzo Sardinero (Severo), Juan Ochado (Felice), Noel Velasco (Poliuto), Maria Dragoni (Paolina), Luigi Roni (Callistene), Guy Gabelle (Nearco), Hervé Martin (A Christian). The Opera Lovers POL 198701 (2 CD).
  • November / December 1989 (video, live from Rome, abridged mixed version): Jan Latham-König (conductor), orchestra and choir of the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma . Renato Bruson (Severo), Bruno Lazzaretti (Felice), Nicola Martinucci (Poliuto), Elizabeth Connell (Paolina), Franco Federici (Callistene), Angelo degl 'Innocenti (Nearco), Guido Mazzini (One Christian). Nuova Era CD: 6776/77 (2 CD), Brilliant Classics 92462 (10 CD).
  • December 1989 (video, live from Rome, abridged mixed version): Jan Latham-König (conductor), orchestra and choir of the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma . Renato Bruson (Severo), Bruno Lazzaretti (Felice), Claudio di Segni (Poliuto), Elizabeth Connell (Paolina), Franco Federici (Callistene), Angelo degl 'Innocenti (Nearco), Guido Mazzini (One Christian). Premiere Opera Ltd. VID 1567 (1 VC).
  • 1993 (live from Bergamo): Gianandrea Gavazzeni (conductor), Orchestra Sinfonica dell Emilia Romagna "Arturo Toscanini", Coro del Teatro Donizetti di Bergamo. Simone Alaimo (Severo), Sergio Rocchi (Felice), José Sempere (Poliuto), Denia Mazzola-Gavazzeni (Paolina), Ildebrando D'Arcangelo (Callistene), Ezio di Cesare (Nearco), Stefano Consolini (One Christian). BMG RFCD 2023.
  • May 4, 1998 (live, concert performance from Carnegie Hall New York): Eve Queler (conductor), Opera Orchestra of New York, Dallas Symphony Chorus. Giovanni Meoni (Severo), Brian Nedvin (Felice), Fabio Armiliato (Poliuto), Martile Rowland (Paolina), Simone Alberghini (Callistene), Alain Gabriel (Nearco), Patrick Carfizzi (A Christian). Legato Classics Incorporated ALD 4653 (1998) ª; House of Opera ALD 4653.
  • January 27, 2006 (live, concert performance from Amsterdam, first version): Giuliano Cianella (conductor), Netherlands Radio Symphony Orchestra and Chorus Hilversum. Majella Cullagh (Paolina), Thomas Walker, Francisco Casanova, Giovanni Battista Parodi, Nicola Alaimo.
  • September 2010 (video, from the Teatro Donizetti Bergamo, Italian version): Marcello Rota (conductor), Marco Spada (director), orchestra and choir of the Bergamo Musica Festival Gaetano Donizetti. Simone Del Savio (Severo), Dionigi D'Ostuni (Felice), Gregory Kunde (Poliuto), Paoletta Marrocu (Paolina), Andrea Papi (Callistene), Massimiliano Chiarolla (Nearco), Piermarco Viñas (One Christian). Bongiovanni AB20021 (1 DVD).
  • October / November 2014 (French version Les Martyrs ): Mark Elder (conductor), Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment . David Kempster (Severo), Brian Sherratt (Felice), Michael Spyres (Poliuto), Joyce El-Khoury (Paolina), Clive Bayley (Callistene), Wynne Evans (Nearco), Simon Preece (One Christian). Opera Rara #ORC 52 (3 CD) (this recording received the International Opera Award 2016).

literature

  • Norbert Miller : Poliuto / Les Martyrs. In: Piper's Encyclopedia of Musical Theater. Volume 2: Works. Donizetti - Henze. Piper, Munich / Zurich 1987, ISBN 3-492-02412-2 , pp. 24-29.
  • Reclam's Opernlexikon , Reclam-Verlag 2001.
  • Karsten Steiger: Operas - A directory of all recordings , Ullstein Verlag 2000.

Web links

Commons : Poliuto  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Norbert Miller : Poliuto / Les Martyrs. In: Piper's Encyclopedia of Musical Theater. Volume 2: Works. Donizetti - Henze. Piper, Munich / Zurich 1987, ISBN 3-492-02412-2 , p. 24.
  2. ↑ April 10, 1840: "Les Martyrs". In: L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia ., Accessed on August 8, 2019.
  3. ↑ November 30, 1848: "Poliuto". In: L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia ., Accessed on August 8, 2019.
  4. ^ Record of the performance on November 30, 1848 in Naples in the Corago information system of the University of Bologna , accessed on August 8, 2019.
  5. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l Gaetano Donizetti. In: Andreas Ommer: Directory of all opera complete recordings. Zeno.org , volume 20.
  6. ↑ Inclusion by Eve Queler (1998) in the discography on Poliuto at Operadis.
  7. ^ Laurent Bury: Donizetti: Poliuto. DVD review on forumopera.com , April 2, 2012, accessed August 3, 2016.
  8. ↑ Donizetti: Les Martyrs - Mark Elder, Joyce El-Khoury, Michael Spyres. CD information from Allmusic , accessed December 9, 2015.
  9. ^ Donizetti's Les Martyrs - Opera Rara. CD review on Classical Source , accessed December 9, 2015.