Betly is a dramma giocoso in two acts (originally one) by the Italian composer Gaetano Donizetti. The composer wrote the Italian libretto after Eugène Scribe and Anne-Honoré-Joseph Duveyrier de Mélésville's libretto for Adolphe Adam's opéra comique Le châlet, in its turn based on Goethe's Singspiel Jery und Bätely (1780).
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It premiered at the Teatro Nuovo, Naples on August 21, 1836, and in the revised, two act version probably on September 29, 1837 at the Teatro del Fondo, Naples.
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, 21 August 1836 (Conductor: - ) |
|---|---|---|
| Betly, Max's sister | soprano | Adelaide Tosi |
| Daniele, young person | tenor | Lorenzo Salvi |
| Max, Swiss petty officer first class | baritone | Giuseppe Fioravanti |
| Peasants, Swiss peasants and soldiers | ||
Betly, a flirtatious, winsome, and strong-headed Swiss girl with many wiles, is quite fond of the young villager Daniel, yet she doesn't reciprocate his ardent love. As the opera begins, the townspeople of the village Appenzell, mischief-makers as they are, have prepared a phony love letter from Betly accepting his proposal of marriage by forging her signature. The young man is elated and quickly invites the entire village to a wedding supper that night.
Soon after, Betly arrives and discovers the situation and makes fun of Daniel, quickly dashing his hopes. Betly feels she is a strong woman and needs no man to take care of her. Awkward and shy Daniel, sad and in despair, stumbles upon a troop of Swiss soldiers and quickly attempts to enlist in the army to be one of them.
Daniel confides in the Sergeant Max Starner, not realizing he is Betly's brother gone from the Canton of Appenzell for more than fifteen years. Max then takes the reins of the story in order to teach a lesson to his young sister and secure a happy ending for young Daniel. To do this, he conceals his identity to Betly upon meeting her and frightens her into believing that she will be had at the hands and pleasure of his troop. Betly quickly begs Daniel to keep the soldiers away from her for the day so she will be safe until they leave. Daniel gathers what courage he has after seeing the desperation in the eyes of his love and defends her honor. Max calls his bluff and challenges him to a duel at which time Betly attempts to save him by claiming him in marriage, at which time she runs to her cottage and quickly signs the marriage certificate. She hopes it will work, because to be legal, it must be signed by her brother Max—who to her knowledge has been away for more than fifteen years. In the end Max signs the document, and Betly realizes the error of her ways at which time she is elated to call Daniel her husband and a happy ending for all is found.