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Adelaide di Borgogna

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Adelaide di Borgogna
Opera by Gioachino Rossini
Rossini c. 1815
LibrettistGiovanni Schmidt
LanguageItalian
Premiere
27 December 1817 (1817-12-27)

Adelaide di Borgogna, ossia Ottone, re d’Italia (Adelaide of Burgundy, or Otto, King of Italy) is a two-act opera composed by Gioachino Rossini (with contributions by Michele Carafa) to a libretto by Giovanni Schmidt. It was premièred at the Teatro Argentina in Rome on 27 December 1817.[1]

The libretto of the opera is based on an episode in medieval Italian history. Lotario II, King of Italy from 945 to 950, was poisoned by Berengario, who usurped the Italian crown. Lotario’s widow, Adelaide of Burgundy, took refuge in the fortress of Canossa (Canosso in the opera), to escape Berengario, who wanted to force her to marry his son Adelberto. In Canossa, Adelaide was protected by Attone (Iroldo in the opera) but, unable to resist the siege by Berengario, she asked for the intervention of Otto the Great (Ottone in Italian), the “Holy Roman Emperor” of Germany, offering to be his wife if he granted her the royal rights due to her. Otto crossed the Alps with his army, went down to Lombardy, freed Adelaide, married her, and took her with him to Germany.

However, Giovanni Schmidt’s libretto contains some historical inaccuracies: the action is dated in 947, when in reality Lotario died in 950; moreover, the fortress of Canossa is said to be located near Lake Garda, but in reality it is on the Apennines of Reggio Emilia.

The scene takes place partly in the fortress of Canossa, partly in Otto’s camp.

Performance history

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20th century and beyond

Performances have included concert versions with Della Jones as Ottone and Eiddwen Harrhy as Adelaide given at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall in November 1978, and another at Usher Hall in Edinburgh on 19 August 2005[2] with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Chorus with Jennifer Larmore as Ottone and Majella Cullagh as Adelaide.

The Festival della Valle d'Itria in Martina Franca in Italy presented staged performances in August 1984, with Ottone sung by Martine Dupuy and Adelaide by Mariella Devia. In addition, the Rossini Opera Festival staged it in Pesaro in August 2006, with Daniela Barcellona and Patrizia Ciofi singing the roles of Ottone and Adelaide respectively[3] and it was presented again in a new production in 2011, also with Barcellona as well as Jessica Pratt in the title role.

Roles

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Elisabetta Pinotti, who created the role of Ottone, by Giovanni Sasso
Roles, voice types, premiere cast
Role Voice type Premiere cast, 27 December 1817[1]
Adelaide soprano Elisabetta Manfredini-Guarmani
Ottone contralto Elisabetta Pinotti
Adelberto tenor Savino Monelli
Berengario bass Gioacchino Sciarpelletti
Eurice mezzo-soprano Anna Maria Muratori
Ernesto tenor Giovanni Puglieschi
Iroldo mezzo-soprano or tenor Luisa Bottesi

Recordings

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Year Cast
(Ottone, Adelaide,
Berengario, Adalberto)
Conductor,
Opera house and orchestra
Label[3]
1984 Martine Dupuy,
Mariella Devia,
Armando Caforio,
Aldo Bertolo
Alberto Zedda,
Martina Franca Festival Orchestra and New Cambridge Chorus
(Recording of a performance at the Festival della Valle d'Itria in Martina Franca, southern Italy, 4 August)
CD: Fonit Cetra
Cat: 3984 27591
2005 Jennifer Larmore,
Majella Cullagh,
Mirco Palazzi,
Bruce Ford
Giuliano Carella,
Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Chorus
(Recording of a concert performance in the Usher Hall, Edinburgh, 19 August)
CD: Opera Rara
Cat: ORC 32
2011 Daniela Barcellona,
Jessica Pratt,
Bogdan Mihai,
Nicola Uliviero
Dmitri Jurowski,
Orchestra and Chorus of Teatro Comunale di Bologna.
(Recording of a performance at the Rossini Opera Festival in Pesaro)
Blu-ray DVD: Arthaus Musik,
Cat: 108060
2018 Margarita Gritskova,
Ekaterina Sadovnikova,
Baurzhan Anderzhanov,
Gheorghe Vlad
Luciano Acocella,
Virtuosi Brunensis,Camerata Bach Choir, Poznań,
Recorded live at the Rossini in Wildbad Festival
CD:Naxos Records
Cat:8.660419-21

References

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  1. ^ a b Casaglia, Gherardo (2005). "Adelaide di Borgogna, 27 December 1817". L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia (in Italian).
  2. ^ Tim Ashley, "Adelaide di Borgogna Usher Hall, Edinburgh", The Guardian (London), 22 August 2005
  3. ^ a b Details of performances and recordings on operadis-opera-discography.org.uk

Further reading

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  • Gossett, Philip; Patricia Brauner, in Amanda Holden (Ed.) (2001), The New Penguin Opera Guide, New York: Penguin Putnam. ISBN 0-14-029312-4
  • Osborne, Charles (1994), The Bel Canto Operas of Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini, Portland, Oregon: Amadeus Press. ISBN 0-931340-71-3
  • Osborne, Richard, Rossini, Ithaca, New York: Northeastern University Press, 1990 ISBN 1-55553-088-5
  • Osborne, Richard, "Adelaide di Borgogna", in Stanley Sadie, (ed.), The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, Vol. One. p. 19. London: Macmillan, 1998 ISBN 0-333-73432-7, 1-56159-228-5
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Synopsis https://www.rossinioperafestival.it/en/stories/adelaide-di-borgogna/