Gemma di Vergy

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Gemma di Vergy is a tragedia lirica or tragic opera in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti (1834) from a libretto by Emanuele Bidéra. It is based on the tragedy Charles VII chez ses grands vassaux (Charles VII at the homes of his great vassals) (1831) by Alexandre Dumas père, which was already the subject of the opera The Saracen by the Russian composer César Cui. The heroine is the childless wife of the Count of Vergny, and the plot deals with her jealousy and grief as her husband arranges an annulment of their marriage in preparation for the arrival of his new bride, Ida, and her despair following the murder of her husband by a slave, Tamas, who is secretly in love with her.

Gemma di Vergy was first performed on 26 December 1834 at the Teatro alla Scala, Milan. The leading role was taken by the Italian soprano Giuseppina Ronzi de Begnis, Donizetti's favourite prima donna at the time,^[1] for whom he had previously composed Fausta (1832 ), and for whom he was later to compose Roberto Devereux (1837). The opera remained very popular in Italy until at least the 1860s,^[1] and productions were also staged in London, Paris, New York, Lisbon, St. Petersburg, Vienna and Barcelona. It was last staged in Empoli in 1901 and then disappeared from the repertoire.^{[citation needed]}

Gemma di Vergy was revived for the soprano Montserrat Caballé in a production at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples in December 1975. A number of live recordings exist of the Caballé performances from Naples, Paris and New York.

[edit] Roles

		Premiere, December 26, 1834
Earl of Vergy	baritone	Giovanni Orazio Cartagenova
Gemma	soprano	Giuseppina Ronzi de Begnis
Ida di Greville	mezzo-soprano	Felicita Baillou-Hillaret
Tamas	tenor	Domenico Reina
Guido	bass	Ignazio Marini
Rolando	bass	Domenico Spiaggi
Knights, archers, soldiers, bridesmaids