''L'arbore di Diana'' (''The Tree of Diana'') is an

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

in two acts composed by Vicente Martín y Soler, with an original

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

Lorenzo da Ponte Lorenzo Da Ponte (; 10 March 174917 August 1838) was an Italians, Italian, later American, opera libretto, librettist, poet and Catholic Church, Roman Catholic priest. He wrote the libretti for 28 operas by 11 composers, including three of Wolfgan ...

. It premiered at the Burgtheater in Vienna on 1 October 1787.

Background and performance history

Da Ponte's librettos for ''L'arbore di Diana'' and ''

Così fan tutte (''Women are like that, or The School for Lovers''), Köchel catalogue, K. 588, is an opera buffa in two acts by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It was first performed on 26 January 1790 at the Burgtheater in Vienna, Austria. The libretto was written ...

'' were the only ones of his not taken from an existing plot. The opera's premiere on 1 October 1787 marked a visit to Vienna of the niece of Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II, the Archduchess Maria Teresa, who was on her way to

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

to marry Prince Anton Clemens of Saxony in person (they had been married by proxy in Florence the month before). The work was enormously successful in its day, but Martín's operas have since fallen from the repertoire. A revival was performed during the 2007/2008 season at the Theater Bielefeld in North Rhine Westphalia, Germany. The opera was revived and recorded in Valencia in 2008 at the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofía. It has also been revived in Barcelona in 2009 at the Gran Teatre del Liceu, at the Minnesota Opera in 2017 conducted by Michael Christie, and at

New England Conservatory The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a Private college, private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. The conservatory is located on Huntington Avenue along Avenue of the Arts (Boston), the Avenue of the Arts near Boston Symphony Ha ...

in 2023. The music consists of "an amalgam of through-composed conversations and encounters, punctuated by brief songs and ariettas"; the plot concerns the goddess Diana's attempts to defend her island as a stronghold of chastity. When confronted by the good-looking shepherd Doristo her defences fall down.Blain, T. Report from St Paul. ''

Opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

'', May 2017, Vol.68, No.5, p628-9.

Roles

Recordings

*Soler: ''L'arbore di Diana'' – Laura Aikin (Diana), Michael Maniaci (Amore), Ainhoa Gramendia (Britomarte/Genio 1), Marisa Martins (Clizia/Genio 2), Jossie Pérez (Cloe/Genio 3), Charles Workman (Silvio), Steve Davislim (Endimione), Marco Vinco (Doristo); Gran Teatre del Liceu Orchestra and Chorus; Harry Bicket (conductor); Francisco Negrin (director). Recorded Barcelona, 2009. Label: Dynamic DVD 33651

Score

''L'arbore di Diana'', critical edition by Leonardo Waisman, IBERAUTOR/ICCMU. Madrid, 2001.

References

* * Anthony Holden, ''Lorenzo Da Ponte, The Man Who Wrote Mozart'' (2006) *Jesson, Roy (1972)
"Martin's ''L'arbore di Diana''"
''

The Musical Times ''The Musical Times'' was an academic journal of classical music edited and produced in the United Kingdom. It was originally created by Joseph Mainzer in 1842 as ''Mainzer's Musical Times and Singing Circular'', but in 1844 he sold it to Alfr ...

'', Vol. 113, No. 1552 (June, 1972), pp. 551–553 {{DEFAULTSORT:Arbore di Diana, L' Italian-language operas Operas 1787 operas Operas by Vicente Martín y Soler Opera world premieres at the Burgtheater Libretti by Lorenzo Da Ponte