''Elena'' also known as ''Elena e Costantino'' is an 1814 opera semiseria by
Johann Simon Mayr
Johann(es) Simon Mayr (also spelled Majer, Mayer, Maier), also known in Italian as Giovanni Simone Mayr or Simone Mayr (14 June 1763 – 2 December 1845), was a German composer. His music reflects the Transition from Classical to Romantic mus ...
to a libretto by
Leone Tottola. The opera premiered in Naples in 1814 and was later adjusted for
La Scala
La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was Santa Maria della Scala, Milan, a church). The premiere performa ...
in 1816 where
Meyerbeer may have heard it using the same plot in
Emma di Resburgo. Goethe and Zelter's correspondence makes mention of the sextet in Act 2, as reported by
Stendhal.
[Lorraine Byrne Bodley ''Goethe and Zelter: Musical Dialogues'' 2017 p 238 "In Act Two of Elena, an opera by old Mayr of Bergamo,251 there is said to be a very effective sextet; it is said to be based on a popular Bohemian melody...]
Recordings
* Elena Julia Sophie Wagner, Daniel Ochoa, Mira Graczyk, Niklas Mallmann, Markus Schäfer, Simon Mayr Chorus, Concerto de Bassus, Franz Hauk Naxos 2021
References
{{Simon Mayr
Operas
1814 operas
Operas by Simon Mayr
Italian-language operas