''Zelmira'' () is an

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libre ...

in two acts by Gioachino Rossini to a libretto by Andrea Leone Tottola. Based on the French play, ''Zelmire'' by

de Belloy Pierre-Laurent Buirette de Belloy or Dormont De Belloy (17 November 17275 March 1775) was a French dramatist and actor. Life He was born at Saint-Flour, Cantal, and was educated by his uncle, a distinguished advocate in Paris, for the bar. To esc ...

, it was the last of the composer's Neapolitan operas.

Stendhal Marie-Henri Beyle (; 23 January 1783 – 23 March 1842), better known by his pen name Stendhal (, ; ), was a 19th-century French writer. Best known for the novels ''Le Rouge et le Noir'' ('' The Red and the Black'', 1830) and ''La Chartreuse de ...

called its music Teutonic, comparing it with '' La clemenza di Tito'' but remarking: "...while Mozart would probably, had he lived, have grown completely Italian, Rossini may well, by the end of his career, have become more German than Beethoven himself!"

Performance history

The first performance of ''Zelmira'' was in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

at the Teatro di San Carlo on 16 February 1822. This was followed by a successful premiere in Vienna on 13 April 1822, as part of a three-month-long Rossini Festival for which Rossini wrote some additional music. Performances in several Italian cities were followed by the London premiere on 24 January 1824, with Rossini conducting and Isabella Colbran (now his wife) in the title role. It was seen in Paris in 1826. There was one presentation in the US in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Osborne, Charles 1994, p. 108 Over 100 years were to pass before the opera was presented in Naples in 1965, but "to no great acclaim". The work was given a production by the Rome Opera in 1989 and revived at the Pesaro Festival in 2009 with a cast including Juan Diego Flórez, Kate Aldrich and Gregory Kunde.

Roles

Synopsis

The opera's complicated plot revolves around Zelmira, her father Polidoro, the wise and beloved king of the Isle of Lesbos, and her husband, Prince Ilo. Before the action begins, Ilo had departed the island to defend his homeland. While he was gone, Azor, the lord of Mytilene and a disappointed suitor of Zelmira, had invaded Lesbos with the intention of assassinating King Polidoro and taking over his throne. Zelmira, however, had managed to conceal her father in the royal mausoleum and then told Azor that he was hiding in the temple to Ceres. Azor burnt down the temple, thinking he had killed the King, but he was in turn killed on orders from Antenore, who also aspired to the throne.

Act 1

The Mytilene warriors are mourning the death of Azor. Antenore, with the help of Leucippo, plots to take over the throne of Lesbos by trying to incriminate Zelmira in the deaths of Azor and her father. At first, even Emma, Zelmira's confidante, believes the accusations. Fearing for the safety of her young son, Zelmira reveals to Emma that her father is still alive and asks her to take the child into hiding. Prince Ilo returns to the island. Zelmira is afraid to tell him of the accusations against her or to defend herself. Instead, Prince Ilo hears only Antenore's version of the story. Antenore is crowned King of Lesbos. Leucippo attempts to murder Ilo, but is stopped by Zelmira. Found with the dagger in her hand, Zelmira is now also accused of attempting to murder her husband and is imprisoned.

Act 2

Leucippo intercepts a letter from Zelmira to Ilo in which she tells him that her father is still alive and that the accusations against her are false. He and Antenore temporarily free her from prison and trick her into revealing her father's hiding place. Both father and daughter are recaptured and await their deaths at the hands of the plotters. Meanwhile, Prince Ilo is distraught at what he believes to be the death of Polidoro and the unhappy end to his marriage. Emma appears and tells Prince Ilo the truth about Zelmira. He and his men rescue Zelmira and Polidoro. Zelmira is happily reunited with her husband and child, while both Antenore and Leucippo are led off in chains.Narici, Ilaria, ''Zelmira'', in Gelli, Piero & Poletti, Filippo (ed.) 2007, ''Dizionario dell'Opera 2008'' (contains synopsis in Italian), Milan: Baldini Castoldi Dalai, pp. 1422-1423. .

Recordings

References

Notes Sources *

Gossett, Philip Philip Gossett (September 27, 1941 – June 12, 2017) was an American musicologist and historian, and Robert W. Reneker Distinguished Service Professor of Music at the University of Chicago. His lifelong interest in 19th-century Italian opera bega ...

; Brauner, Patricia (2001), "''Zelmira''" in Holden, Amanda (ed.), ''The New Penguin Opera Guide'', New York: Penguin Putnam. *Greenwald, Helen and Hansell, Kathleen Kuzmick (2006), ''Zelmira: Dramma Per Musica in Two Acts by Andrea Leone Tottola''
Critical edition prepared for the Fondazione Rossini, Vol. 33
Milan: Ricordi, 2006. Chicago: University of Chicago, 2006. *Kalmus/Belwin Mills has reprinted a piano-vocal score of apparently French origin with a table of contents. No recitatives are given and whole scenes are omitted. * Osborne, Charles (1994), ''The Bel Canto Operas of Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini'', London: Methuen; Portland, Oregon: Amadeus Press. *Osborne, Richard (1990), ''Rossini'', Ithaca, New York: Northeastern University Press. *Osborne, Richard (1998), "''Zelmira''", in

Stanley Sadie Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was an influential and prolific British musicology, musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the ''Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), whi ...

, (Ed.), '' The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', Vol. Four, pp. 1223—1224. London: Macmillan Publishers, Inc. *Scimone, Claudio, (Trans. John Underwood), Notes on ''Zelmira'' in booklet accompanying the 1989 Erato recording. *Stendhal, (translated and annotated by Richard N. Coe), ''Life of Rossini'', University of Washington Press, 1972

External links

Text of ''Zelmire''
by Pierre-Laurent de Belloy

on the 1989 revival of ''Zelmira'' at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro.
''The Scotsman''
on the 2003 concert performance in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. *Chris Mullins
'Recording review: ''Zelmira'', Opera Rara'
''Opera Today'', 22 December 2004. *Th

has a definitive role list from the critical edition by Greenwald and Hansell and some musical analysis. {{Authority control Operas Italian-language operas Operas by Gioachino Rossini Opera world premieres at the Teatro San Carlo Operas based on plays 1822 operas Operas set in ancient Greece Libretti by Andrea Leone Tottola