''Don John of Austria'' is a

ballad opera The ballad opera is a genre of England, English ''comic opera'' stage play that originated in the early 18th century, and continued to develop over the following century and later. Like the earlier ''comédie en vaudeville'' and the later ''Sings ...

in three acts by Isaac Nathan to a

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 ...

by Jacob Levi Montefiore. It is the first opera to be written, composed and produced in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. Quote from the opera's title page: :The plot is taken and many scenes are literal translations from Casimir Delavigne's celebrated comedy of "Don John of Austria" (Don Juan d'Autriche).

Performance history

It premiered on 3 May 1847 at the Royal Victoria Theatre, Sydney and enjoyed a successful run of six performances. It has been produced only twice since: two performances (12 and 14 September 1997) at

Spitalfields Spitalfields () is an area in London, England and is located in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is in East London and situated in the East End of London, East End. Spitalfields is formed around Commercial Street, London, Commercial Stre ...

, London, by Spitalfields Market Opera with The Chelsea Opera Group directed by Philip Parr and conducted by Alexander Briger, and semi-staged performances on 18 and 20 October 2007in two actsat the City Recital Hall, Angel Place, Sydney, also conducted by Briger. Nathan's original orchestration has been lost and Nathan's great-great-great grandson, the conductor Sir

Charles Mackerras Sir Alan Charles MacLaurin Mackerras (; (17 November 1925 – 14 July 2010) was an American-born Australian conductor. He was an authority on the operas of Janáček and Mozart, and the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan. He was long associ ...

, created a new orchestration. Alexander Briger is a nephew of Mackerras, and Nathan's great-great-great-great grandson.

Synopsis

Nathan’s fast-paced opera tells of the rivalry in love of

Philip II of Spain Philip II (21 May 152713 September 1598), sometimes known in Spain as Philip the Prudent (), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from 1580, and King of Naples and List of Sicilian monarchs, Sicily from 1554 until his death in 1598. He ...

and his illegitimate half-brother

Don John of Austria John of Austria (, ; 24 February 1547 – 1 October 1578) was the illegitimate son of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. Charles V recognized him in a codicil to his will. John became a military leader in the service of his half-brother, King Phil ...

. The libretto follows Delavigne's 1835 ''Don Juan d'Autriche'' fairly closely, except for the addition of a scene near the end with Agnes alone, where she sings "They tell us that a home of light there is, where praying

seraph A seraph ( ; pl.: ) is a celestial or heavenly being originating in Ancient Judaism. The term plays a role in subsequent Judaism, Islam and Christianity. Tradition places seraphim in the highest rank in Christian angelology and in the fif ...

s glow". In fact the opera's plot is in many ways an inversion of

Fromental Halévy Jacques-François-Fromental-Élie Halévy, usually known as Fromental Halévy (; 27 May 179917 March 1862), was a French composer. He is known today largely for his opera ''La Juive''. Early career Halévy was born in Paris, son of the cantor ...

's opera ''

La Juive ''La Juive'' (, ) is a grand opera in five acts by Fromental Halévy to an original French libretto by Eugène Scribe; it was first performed at the Opéra National de Paris, Opéra de Paris, on 23 February 1835. Composition history ''La Juive'' ...

'' (libretto by

Eugène Scribe Augustin Eugène Scribe (; 24 December 179120 February 1861) was a French dramatist and librettist. He is known for writing "well-made plays" ("pièces bien faites"), a mainstay of popular theatre for over 100 years, and as the librettist of man ...

). In the latter, the male lover is precluded from having an affair with his inamorata because she is Jewish, whilst he is a high-born Christian; later it turns out that she was Christian all along, but all ends tragically. In ''Don John'', in a similar situation, it turns out that the 'high-born Christian' is in fact of Jewish descent, and all ends happily.

Roles

*Don

John of Austria John of Austria (, ; 24 February 1547 – 1 October 1578) was the illegitimate son of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor. Charles V recognized him in a codicil to his will. John became a military leader in the service of his half-brother, King Phi ...

, illegitimate son of

Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise Others * Charles V, Duke ...

(

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

) *Donna Agnes, secretly a Jew, also known as Miriam, John's beloved (

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

) *

, King, legitimate son of Charles/Carlos, disguised as the Count de Santa Fiore, also in love with Agnes (

baritone A baritone is a type of classical music, classical male singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the bass (voice type), bass and the tenor voice type, voice-types. It is the most common male voice. The term originates from the ...

) *Don Quexada, former Prime Minister (

bass-baritone A bass-baritone is a high-lying bass or low-lying "classical" baritone voice type which shares certain qualities with the true baritone voice. The term arose in the late 19th century to describe the particular type of voice required to sing three ...

) *Dorothy, Agnes' servant (

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano (, ), or mezzo ( ), is a type of classical music, classical female singing human voice, voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A bel ...

) *Chorus **Speaking roles: **Brother Carlos, formerly Charles V of Spain **Don Ruy de Gomes, Philip's Prime Minister **Domingo, Don Quexada's servant **Antonio, Brother Carlos' servant **Jerome, Don Quexada's servant **Don Ferdinand de Valdes,

Grand Inquisitor Grand Inquisitor (, literally ''Inquisitor General'' or ''General Inquisitor'') was the highest-ranked official of the Inquisition. The title usually refers to the inquisitor of the Spanish Inquisition, in charge of appeals and cases of aristoc ...

**Lords in Waiting, Officers, Alguazils, Monks and Attendants

Recordings

*1996
"Overture", "The days are gone when Judah's voice"
*2011: (Complete performance) Steve Davislim (Don John),

Cheryl Barker Cheryl Ruth Barker (born 22 April 1960, Sydney) is an Australian operatic soprano who has had an active international career since the late 1980s. She has sung on several complete opera recordings with Chandos Records, including the title rol ...

(Donna Anna), Grant Doyle (Philip II), Paul Whelan (Don Quaxada), Sally-Anne Russell (Dorothy), Alexander Briger (conductor), Sydney Philharmonia Chamber Singers,

Sydney Symphony Orchestra The Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is an Australian symphony orchestra based in Sydney. With roots going back to 1908, the orchestra was made a permanent professional orchestra on the formation of the Australian Broadcasting Commission in 1932. ...

;

ABC Classics ABC Music is Australia's largest independent record label. It operates under the ABC Commercial division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It covers a wide range of music genres, including classical, children’s and adult conte ...

Cat. No.: 4764114''Don John of Austria'' recording booklet
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References

External links

Overture score (piano reduction), 7 pages
{{DEFAULTSORT:Don John Of Austria (Opera) Operas Ballad operas English-language operas 1847 operas Operas set in Spain Fiction about Jews and Judaism Operas based on plays Operas completed by others