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49-453: Alzira may refer to: Alzira (opera) , an opera by Giuseppe Verdi Alzira, Valencia , a town in Spain, also known as Alcira Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Alzira . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to

98-485: A carefree chorus which leads to Edoardo seeking their support and announcing his hope of still being able to marry Giulietta: "Pietoso al lungo pianto...Deh lasciate a un alma amante". Belfiore, the Treasurer, and Giulietta enter discussing the reasons for Baron Kelbar's opposition to his daughter's marriage to Eduardo. Giulietta explains that the young man's poverty is the main objection and so Belfiore immediately rules that

147-405: A comedy to be written for the autumn season. Asked to select a libretto by Romani which already existed, Verdi notes that he did not like any of them but "because the matter was of some urgency, I chose the one which seemed to me to be the least bad". The first performance at La Scala on 5 September 1840 was a failure, and La Scala cancelled the remaining scheduled performances. They did not revive

196-576: A complimentary note of approval in Naples' Gazzetta Musicale : "Beauties so delicately contrived that the ear can hardly take them in". However, the general reaction in Naples was not positive, even worse when Alzira was staged in Rome in November 1845 and, worse still, after the 1846 presentations at La Scala, resulting in the worst press that the composer had seen since the failure of Un giorno di regno in 1840. It

245-427: A final blessing from his father as he dies. Alzira is scored for piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, one cimbasso, timpani, bass drum and cymbals, snare drum, triangle, offstage band, offstage bass drum, harp and strings. As both Budden and Parker have observed, Verdi's reference to this opera later in his life as "proprio brutta" ("downright ugly")

294-450: A finished libretto from Cammarano in his possession four months before the production. Verdi had received a synopsis of the opera from Cammarano, the subject of which was not his. But, as Budden notes, Verdi adopted a somewhat passive attitude, impressed as he was at being able to work with this librettist. In a letter of 23 February 1845, Verdi had expressed his optimism that "Voltaire's tragedy will become an excellent melodrama," with

343-402: A mortal man can ask for..") Scene 2: Ataliba's apartments in the governor's palace As her father enters, Alzira wakes but is still half dreaming of Zamoro. She recounts a more disturbing dream she has had of Gusmano ( Da Gusman sul fragil barca / "I was fleeing from Gusman in a frail boat") but, although he is dead, she still believes that Zamoro loves her: Nell'astro che più fulgido / "On

392-460: Is bursting with joy"). Scene 2: A cave, some distance from Lima The defeated Incas are downcast, but they hear that Zamoro has escaped, dressed as a Spanish soldier. He soon enters but is in despair: Irne lungi ancor dovrei / " Must I drag out my days as a fugitive, bowed down with shame?". When he hears from his followers that Alzira has agreed to marry Gusmano and that preparations are being made, vows to fight: Non di codarde lagrime / "This

441-532: Is completely novel and it aroused the greatest enthusiasm". In another example, Budden comments on the Nella polve genuflesso act 1 sextet and chorus, drawing the reader's attention to the fact that, after all, the libretto was written by Cammarano for a Neapolitan audience, the same one which would have experienced his famous Lucia sextet. However, as written by Verdi "the structure is altogether more varied and elaborate. The opening dialogue between Alvaro and Gusmano

490-454: Is her intention to marry the Count of Ivrea. However, she cannot understand why Belfiore is taking so long to reveal himself and still hopes for his change of heart: (andante) "Si mostri a chi l'adora...". When Count Ivrea is announced, she takes a defiant stand (cabaletta): "Si, scordar saprò l'infido". Since Eduardo has pledged to join the "King" when he goes to Poland, Giulietta is determined to get

539-451: Is not the time for cowardly tears, but for blood!". He rushes out to the palace Scene 3: Large hall in the governor's palace As the wedding of Alzira and Gusmano is about to begin, a Spanish soldier leaps forward and fatally stabs Gusmano. To Alzira's surprise it is Zamoro. Before he dies, Gusmano tells him that Alzira only agreed to the marriage in order to secure his release. He forgives Zamoro, blesses his union with Alzira, and receives

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588-507: Is relinquishing the governorship and handing it over to his son, Gusmano who states that his first act will be to secure peace with the Incas. Ataliba gives him his support, but advises him that his daughter Alzira is not yet ready to marry Gusmano. He, while understanding ( Eterna la memoria / "The eternal memory of a desperate love is weighing her down ..."), urges the older man to try to persuade her ( Quanto un mortal può chiedere / "Whatever

637-448: Is remarkably original with its persistent upward motion from key to key a fifth apart." Notes Sources Un giorno di regno Un giorno di regno, ossia Il finto Stanislao ( A One-Day Reign, or The Pretend Stanislaus , but often translated into English as King for a Day ) is an operatic melodramma giocoso in two acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto written in 1818 by Felice Romani . Originally written for

686-606: The Buxton Festival in England. In October 2012, the Bilbao -based ABAO society, one which plans to present all of Verdi's works, presented the opera under conductor Alberto Zedda . Sarasota Opera presented the new critical edition of the opera in March 2013, the 29th work of the complete Verdi canon (in all its versions) to be presented by the company. Dr. Francesco Izzo, Co-Director of

735-669: The Rome Opera in February 1967 (with Virginia Zeani as Alzira and Cornell MacNeil as Gusmano). According to Budden this "proved that the score is genuinely alive" and he concludes by noting that it is "not downright bad" and that "no Verdi opera is totally negligible". It was not until January 1968 that it was first given in the US: a concert version was given in Carnegie Hall , New York on 17 January 1968 with Louis Quilico . In February 1981, it

784-470: The American Institute for Verdi Studies and the critical edition's editor, notes that: This edition corrects a number of inaccuracies and arbitrary alterations present in other scores of the opera, which has often circulated under the title Il finto Stanislao . I have done my very best to provide an edition that faithfully reflects Verdi's intentions throughout. The Glimmerglass Festival presented

833-504: The Baron is affronted and challenges him to a duel. To add to the confusion all around, the Marchesa immediately proposes that Giulietta and Edoardo be married immediately. However, the false King returns and proposes that he will decide on a solution that will satisfy everyone. Scene 1: The gallery of Kelbar's castle Following the "King's" pronouncement, the servants are mystified and they sing

882-616: The Bohemian composer Adalbert Gyrowetz the libretto was based on the play Le faux Stanislas written by the Frenchman Alexandre-Vincent Pineux Duval in 1808. Un giorno was given its premiere performance at the Teatro alla Scala , Milan on 5 September 1840. After the success of his first opera, Oberto in 1839, Verdi received a commission from La Scala impresario Merelli to write three more operas. Un giorno

931-521: The Brittany Treasurer, but Giulietta prefers La Rocca's nephew, Edoardo. Another undesired marriage involves Baron Kelbar's niece, the Marchesa del Poggio, a young widow who is in love with Belfiore. She has become engaged to the Count of Ivrea because Belfiore has been unable to commit himself to marrying her, in spite of the fact that he does love her. Knowing of the Marchesa's imminent arrival and concerned that she might reveal his false identity as

980-668: The Cavaliere di Belfiore, to impersonate him in France. Scene 1: A gallery in the home of Baron Kelbar Belfiore, impersonating the Polish king Stanislaus, is a guest at the home of Baron Kelbar and he comments to himself on his change of fortune: "Compagnoni di Parigi...Verrà purtroppo il giorno" / "Comrades in Paris...Unfortunately, the day will come". The Baron has recently arranged a political alliance by betrothing his daughter, Giulietta, to La Rocca,

1029-448: The Count: "Grave a core innamorato...Se dee cader la vedova". Scene 2: The Garden of Kelbar's castle Giulietta is alone with her attendants and expresses unhappiness in having to marry an old man: "Non san quant'io nel petto...Non vo' quel vecchio". When Baron Kelbar and Treasurer La Rocca arrive, followed in succession by Belfiore and Edoardo and then the Marchesa (who was planning to help

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1078-599: The Inca invasion of Lima is announced, Alvaro confirms that Zamoro has saved him from certain death; Gusmano orders him to be freed to go out to fight with the invading Incas: "I shall meet you in battle, hated rival". Scene 1: The fortifications of Lima Zamoro has led a fresh attack against the conquistadores and has been captured. Gusmano condemns him to death, but, over Alzira's protests, forces her to agree to marry Gusmano promising that he will spare Zamoro. Reluctantly, she agrees (Gusmano: Colma di gioia ho l'anima! / "My heart

1127-466: The King has created him Marshal. Before dropping the disguise, the "King" proclaims that Giulietta and Eduardo are to be married and, having received Baron Kelbar's consent, reads the true king's letter and reveals his true rank. He expresses his love for the Marchesa and all ends happily with the prospect of two weddings. The music of the piece shows the influence of Rossini and Donizetti . The haste in which

1176-554: The King to rescind the commitment. The Count enters and the Marchesa once again states that she will marry the Count. However, Belfiore immediately forbids the marriage for 'reasons of state' and announces that he and the Count must leave for Poland to deal with state business. All express their feelings, but things come to a halt when a letter arrives for Belfiore. It is from King Stanislaw announcing his safe arrival in Warsaw and releasing Belfiore from his task of impersonating him. In return,

1225-448: The King, Belfiore writes to Stanislaw and asks to be released from his commitment. Edoardo reveals his predicament to the "King" and begs to be taken to Poland with him in order to forget about the woman he loves. In addition, when the Marchesa arrives and, upon being introduced to Belfiore as "the King", she pretends not to recognize him. Likewise, he pretends not to recognize her, but she is determined to test him by proclaiming her love for

1274-707: The Theater St Gallen in Switzerland, with Paolo Gavanelli appearing in some performances. Alzira received its first professional staging in the UK at the Buxton Festival in 2018. Peruvian Indians drag the Spanish governor, Alvaro, into the square and are about to execute him. Suddenly Zamoro, an Inca, appears and asks them to release the man; they do so. Zamoro tells the Indians that he had been captured and tortured by Gusmano,

1323-434: The Treasurer must give up one of his castles and give over a sum of money to the young man, and then all will be well. The latter is somewhat reluctant to disobey his sovereign, but seeks a way out of his duel with Baron Kelbar. Scene 2: A veranda overlooking the castle gardens Belfiore and the Marchesa meet on the veranda, the former still unable to reveal who he really is. This incenses the lady, who boldly states that it

1372-423: The added hope that if the librettist would "put some passion into your libretto" and that he, Verdi, would write music to match. In their early correspondence, it appears that Cammarano had already sent some sample verses because Verdi's 23 February letter also contained his enthusiasm for receiving more: "I beg you to send me promptly some more verses. It's not necessary for me to tell you to keep it short. You know

1421-407: The composer may have gone beyond the conventional and which are not as successful, "the conventional moments succeed far better than those that challenge accepted norms". The critic Arrivabene's general comment has been noted, but in regard to the overture, he stated that it: "preserves the two-fold character of the opera - savage and warlike on the one hand, tender and romantic on the other. Its form

1470-581: The confrontation of different creeds, different civilizations and different worlds becomes merely another variant of the eternal triangle. In the Spring of 1845 Verdi's health forced a postponement until at least the following August, although he was well enough to arrive in Naples by the end of July to oversee rehearsals. In a letter of 30 July, he expresses optimism that the opera will be well received but notes that "if it were to fail, that wouldn't upset me unduly". 19th century The opening performance received

1519-417: The couple together, and orders that Zamoro be arrested and immediately executed. There follows the sextet Nella polve genuflesso in which each of the characters expresses his/her feelings: "Alvaro begs his son to show mercy; Gusman remains obdurate but uneasy, Alzira. ... ., laments the passing of her short-lived happiness; Zamoro expresses his faith in her constancy; Zuma and Ataliba their despair" As

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1568-466: The first run of the opera received only four further performances. Following his completion of Giovanna d'Arco , Verdi began on work on Alzira , having been invited by the impresario of the Teatro San Carlo in Naples, Vincenzo Flauto, to write an opera for that house, the invitation having followed the earlier success of Ernani . One of the attractions of the arrangement to Verdi was to have

1617-454: The intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Alzira&oldid=932683919 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Alzira (opera) The first performance was at the Teatro San Carlo , Naples , on 12 August 1845. The contemporary reviews were mixed, and

1666-466: The large size of La Scala itself (noted by George Martin as "too big for the piece") plus the rather old-fashioned nature of the work which was written in a style that was rapidly going out of fashion. In fact, in summary, Budden notes that "by the side of Donizetti's L'elisir d'amore or Don Pasquale , it cuts a clumsy figure". Other productions in Italy during Verdi's lifetime seemed to fare better; it

1715-566: The leader of the Spaniards ( Un Inca, eccesso orribile / "An Inca..dreadful outrage!") to the point where everyone believed him to be dead. Otumbo tells Zamoro that Alzira, his beloved, along with her father Ataliba, are being held captive by the Spaniards, and he urges the Indian tribes to revolt: Risorto fra le tenebre / "I emerged into the darkness ..."). Scene 1: The main square of Lima Alvaro announces that, due to his age and infirmity, he

1764-464: The lovers), Belfiore draws the Baron and Treasurer La Rocca away on the pretext of discussing state business, leaving the young lovers alone with the Marchesa. Scene 3: The gallery of Kelbar's castle Maintaining his role as the King, Belfiore makes the Treasurer an offer of advancement which would include marriage to a rich widow. By accepting, he agrees not to marry Giulietta. When the Treasurer tells Baron Kelbar that he refuses to marry his daughter,

1813-556: The opera in a new English adaptation during the 2013 Festival. The Polish monarch, King Stanisław Leszczyński , an historical figure during the War of Succession, lost his throne after the Saxon invasion at the Battle of Poltava in 1709. He regained it in 1733, but was again deposed in 1736 and went into exile in France. The opera is set in 1733 when Stanislaw returned to Poland leaving a French officer,

1862-442: The period leading up to and during its composition. A contributing factor was that the only singers La Scala's impresario had available were those assembled for an opera seria, Otto Nicolai 's Il templario , and they had no experience with comedy: "The cast had been assembled chiefly for the performance of the season's most successful novelty, Il templario , Nicolai's version of Ivanhoe". Other factors which have been noted include

1911-482: The services of the man who was now - following Felice Romani 's virtual retirement - the principal librettist in Italy. This was Salvatore Cammarano, the Naples "house poet" who had been responsible for some of Donizetti's successes, which included Lucia di Lammermoor . Using the publisher Giovanni Ricordi as "a kind of agent" Verdi's terms were laid out. These included being able to receive one-third more than his fee for I Lombardi and, more importantly, having

1960-430: The star that gleams most brightly ... there lives Zamoro". Ataliba continues to try to persuade Alzira to marry Gusmano, without success, until suddenly Zamoro enters. Believing that it is his ghost, Alzira is skeptical, but realizes that he is still alive. They pledge their love together: Risorge ne' tuoi lumi l'astro de' giorni miei! / "The star of my existence has risen again in your eyes!". Gusmano enters, sees

2009-419: The theatre better than I do." It is quite clear that Verdi's characteristic requirement for brevity appeared this early on in his career. As far as the libretto went, it was acceptable to Verdi; he was even "highly delighted" with it. However, from Voltaire's play the "intellectual content [was] reduced to a minimum [and] religion and politics, the two raisons d'être of the drama, are scarcely mentioned; and

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2058-513: The work until 2001. Verdi would not attempt another operatic comedy until the end of his career with Falstaff . At the premiere Verdi was seated in the orchestra pit, and thus heard the audience reaction directly. Along with the critics, Verdi acknowledged that the failure was partly due to his own personal circumstances, since his two children (the first in 1838, the second in 1839) and then, in June 1840, his wife Margherita Barezzi had died, all during

2107-558: The work was written may account for some of the uneven quality some critics have noted. With regard to the recitatives, Gossett notes that "only his youthful comic opera, Un giorno di regno (1840), uses secco recitative ". A critic at the UK premiere found a "soprano solo with female chorus of a kind that looks back to 'O beau pays de Touraine' in Les Huguenots " and "forward to Maria Boccanegra 's 'Come in quest" ora bruna'"; he also sensed an "extraordinary foretaste of Falstaff in

2156-407: Was as much a reflection on the composer's reaction to the libretto as it was on the music. In one example, Budden notes that Verdi's setting of the act 1 love duet, "he preferred to press swiftly ahead, sustaining a dramatic momentum which the text does not imply". However, both scholars are also in agreement that there is some interesting music, especially some of the ensembles and, in areas where

2205-402: Was first of the three, but he wrote the piece during a period when first his children and then his wife died and its failure in 1840 caused the young composer to almost abandon opera. It was not until he was enticed to write the music for the existing libretto of what became Nabucco that Verdi restarted his career. After Oberto and after Merelli returned from Vienna in early 1840, he needed

2254-616: Was given in Venice in 1845 (as Il finto Stanislao , where it did well), in Rome in 1846, and Naples (also as Il finto Stanislao ) in 1859. In the U.S., the opera received its premiere on 18 June 1960 by Amato Opera , in English at New York Town Hall. In the UK, the premiere took place on 21 March 1961 in Italian by the Impressario Society at St Pancras Town Hall conducted by Hans Ucko. It

2303-637: Was part of the San Diego Opera 's June 1981 "Verdi Festival". With the temporary shutdown of the Royal Opera House , Covent Garden in 1999, the Royal Opera gave a concert performance at the Royal Festival Hall. Russian baritone Vladimir Chernov sang the "King" with John Del Carlo as Baron Kelbar; Susanne Mentzer sang Giuletta. This presentation was followed in 2001 with a staged production at

2352-836: Was staged by the Teatro Regio di Parma and in July 1996, a performance was given at the Royal Opera House in London In March / April 1998 it was given in the Stadttheater in Passau ; it was included in 2000 in the Sarasota Opera 's "Verdi Cycle"; and it was revived at the Teatro Regio di Parma in May/June 2002, with Vladimir Chernov . Periodically, between January and June 2010, it was presented by

2401-552: Was staged in Ferrara as part of the Spring 1847 carnivale season, after which it disappeared from the repertory. 20th century and beyond Prior to 1940, the opera was not performed very often; however, there was a 1938 concert performance in Berlin with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf . Other recordings show that there has been a steady flow of presentations, many only in concert form, especially since 2000. Postwar stagings include those given by

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