Zoraida di Granata (also Zoraide di Granata or Zoraïda di Granata) is a two-act melodramma eroico (opera seria or 'heroic' opera) by Gaetano Donizetti. The Italian libretto, partly prepared by Bartolomeo Merelli (whose delays Donizetti criticized), drew on Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian's 1791 play Gonzalve de Cordoue ou Grenade Reconquise and on Luigi Romanelli's libretto for Giuseppe Nicolini's Abenamet e Zoraide.
History When Donizetti arrived in Rome, carrying a letter of introduction from his teacher and mentor Johann Simon Mayr to poet and librettist Jacopo Ferretti, he secured his help in revising Merelli's text.Allit 1991, pp. 26–27
Although it was Donizetti's first theatrical success "and the opera in which he began to adopt 'Rossinian' techniques",Ashbrook and Hibberd 2001, p. 226 the original 1822 version of this violent love story was never given a complete performance because Amerigo Sbigoli, the tenor originally cast in the role of Abenamet, died shortly before the first night, with no replacement available. Donizetti quickly adapted this role for contralto, though omitting three numbers in the process.
The first performance took place at the Teatro Argentina, Rome, on 28 January 1822 and it and its composer received great acclaim in the weekly Notizie del giorno: "A new and very happy hope is rising for the Italian musical theatre. The young Maestro Gaetano Donizetti...has launched himself strongly in his truly serious opera, Zoraida. Unanimous, sincere, universal was the applause he justly collected from the capacity audience...".Osborne 1994, p. 146
The opera was presented in a revised edition at the same theatre on 7 January 1824, and given a revival in Lisbon in 1825.
Roles
RoleVoice typePremiere cast, 28 January 1822(Conductor: - )Almuzir, King of GranadatenorDomenico DonzelliAlmanzor, friend of AbenametbassGaetano RambaldiZoraida, in love with, and loved by, AbenametsopranoMaria Ester MombelliAbenamet, General of the Moorsoriginally tenor(then substitute contralto) Amerigo Sbigoli(Adelaide Mazzanti)Ashbrook 1986, p. 20. The first name 'Adelaide' is reported by Richard, Zoraida di Granata, Donizetti, "Opera", 51, 1, January 2000, pp. 119–120.Ines, a Spanish slave and friend of Zoraidamezzo-sopranoGaetana CoriniAw ZegribassAlberto Torri
Synopsis Time: 1480 Place: Granada, Spain.
The murderous and duplicitous Almuzir wishes to marry Zoraida, the daughter of the late king, who in turn loves Abenamet, the victorious General of the Moors. To save Abenamet from the sentence of death passed on him consequent to the machinations of Almuzir, Zoraida agrees to the marriage. She survives Abenamet's doubts as to her fidelity and somewhat implausibly is allowed to marry him.
Recordings
1822 version YearCast (Almuzir, Zoraida, Abenamet, Almanzor)Conductor,Opera House and OrchestraLabelRecordings of the opera on operadis-opera-discography.org.uk1998Bruce Ford,Majella Cullagh,Paul Austin Kelly,Matthew HargreavesDavid Parry,Geoffrey Mitchell Choir, Orchestra of the Academy of Saint Martin in the FieldsOpera Rara, ORC17; (CD 1, CD 2, CD 3 tracks 1–9)
1824 version The Opera Rara recording contains an additional twenty pieces from the 1822 version, with Diana Montague in the role of Abenamet (CD 3, tracks 10–14, and CD 4).
References Notes
Cited sources
Ashbrook, William and Sarah Hibberd (2001), in Holden, Amanda (Ed.), The New Penguin Opera Guide, New York: Penguin Putnam. . pp. 224 – 247. Ashbrook, William (1986), Donizetti. I: La vita, Turin: EDT. Osborne, Charles, (1994), The Bel Canto Operas of Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini, Portland, Oregon: Amadeus Press.
Other sources Allitt, John Stewart (1991), Donizetti: in the light of Romanticism and the teaching of Johann Simon Mayr, Shaftesbury: Element Books, Ltd (UK); Rockport, MA: Element, Inc.(USA) Ashbrook, William (1982), Donizetti and His Operas, Cambridge University Press. Ashbrook, William (1998), "Donizetti, Gaetano" in Stanley Sadie (Ed.), The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, Vol. One. London: Macmillan Publishers, Inc. Loewenberg, Alfred (1970). Annals of Opera, 1597-1940, 2nd edition. Rowman and Littlefield Sadie, Stanley, (Ed.); John Tyrell (Exec. Ed.) (2004), The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. 2nd edition. London: Macmillan. (hardcover). (eBook). Weinstock, Herbert (1963), Donizetti and the World of Opera in Italy, Paris, and Vienna in the First Half of the Nineteenth Century, New York: Pantheon Books.
External links Donizetti Society (London) website Information and Libretto (Italian) 1 Recording on Opera Rara website