Don Gregorio is an opera by Gaetano Donizetti, adapted from his popular 1824 opera buffa L'ajo nell'imbarazzo, from a libretto by Jacopo Ferretti. While L'ajo nell'imbarazzo enjoyed success at Teatro Valle, it was not suited to the Teatro Nuovo in Naples, where Francesco Tortoli was interested in producing it. Donizetti signed a contract with Tortoli for 300 ducats to adapt L'ajo nell'imbarazzo into a new opera, Don Gregorio, and to compose one further opera. For the adaptation of L'ajo nell'imbarazzo, Donizetti would revise the recitatives into spoken dialogue and translate the role of Don Gregorio into the Neapolitan dialect. The opera premiered at the Teatro Nuovo on 11 June 1826.
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Before the planned Naples production of L'ajo nell'imbarazzo in 1826, Donizetti revised the opera under the title of Don Gregorio, and under that name, it premiered at the Teatro Nuovo in Naples on 11 June 1826. That same year, it also was given at La Scala. On 28 July 1846 it was first given in London,[1] but "seems to have disappeared from view until it turned up again in Italy in the twentieth century"[2]. It was presented at the Teatro Donizetti in the compopser's home town, Bergamo, in 1959, but a successful staging by the Wexford Festival in 1973 led to it appearing in four additional European cities between 1975 and 1990. Meanwhile, an Italian TV production had been broadcast in 1964 [3], but a new video recording was made from live performances given by the Teatro Donizetti in November 2007.
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, 11 June 1826 (Conductor: -) |
|---|---|---|
| Don Gregorio | bass | |
| Gilda | soprano | |
| Leonarda | mezzo-soprano | |
| Marchese Enrico | tenor | |
| Don Giulio Antiquati | baritone | |
| Marchese Pippetto | tenor |
Marquis Giulio demands that his sons, Enrico and Pippetto, grow up in complete ignorance of all matters of the flesh. Yet Enrico has secretly married Gilda, and they even have a son. Exasperated by the life he's forced to lead, the youth begs the elderly tutor Gregorio for help, and has him meet his wife. When, however, the Marquis arrives, Gilda remains trapped in Gregorio's room. She worries, for she must nurse her child: Gregorio is forced to fetch the baby and bring it to her, hidden under his cloak. Leonarda, an old servant in the household, informs the Marquis of her suspiscions; he discovers Gilda, but is convinced she must be the tutor's lover. In the tempestuous scene that follows, involving all the characters, the truth finally comes out. The Marquis realizes his error, and decides to entrust his younger son, Pippetto, to Enrico, so that he might help him learn "the ways of the world."
| Year | Cast (Gregorio Cordebono, Gilda Tallemanni, Leonarda, Marchese Enrico, Don Giulio Antiquati, Marchese Pippetto) |
Conductor, Opera House and Orchestra |
Label[4] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Paolo Bordogna, Elizaveta Martirosyan, Alessandra Fratelli, Giorgio Trucco, Giorgio Valerio, Livio Scarpellini |
Stefano Montanari, Bergamo Musica Festival Gaetano Donizetti Orchestra and Chorus (Recorded at performances at the Bergamo Musica Festival, 2–4 November) |
Audio CD: Dynamic (record label) Cat: 33579 |