Betly
Performance history
The opera premiered at the Teatro Nuovo in Naples on 21 August 1836, and in the revised, two act version, probably on 29 September 1837 at the Teatro del Fondo, Naples.[citation needed]
Roles
| 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 | ||
Synopsis
- Time: 18th century
- Place: Swiss mountain chalet
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,; 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; she is elated to call Daniel her husband and a happy ending for all is found.
Recitatives and arias
Scene 1
- Daniel and Chorus: Introduction and Cavatina: "Già l'aurora in cielo appar"
- Daniel: Recitative & Arietta: "E fia ver" & "Non può il cor"
- Daniel: Recitative: "Amici miei"
- Betly: Cavatina: "In questo semplice, modesto asilo"
- Betly and Daniel: Recitative & Duet: "Ho mangiato e bene" & "Io sognai che me beato"
- Daniel: Recitative: "È finita per me"
Scene 2
- Chorus: "Maledetta la vita di stento"
- Max: Cavatina: "Ti vedo, ti bacio"
- Daniel and Max: Recitative: "Oh giovinotto!"
- Betly, Max, Chorus: Scena, Coro and Finale Primo: "Per questa via remota"
Scene 3
- Betly and Daniel: Recitative and Duet: "In cortesia"
- Betly, Daniel and Max: Recitative: "Che! l'ha fatto restar"
- Daniel and Max: Recitative & Duet: "Bassa la voce" & "O la bella immantinente"
- Betly: Recitative, Aria and Finale: "Mi reggo appena in piè/ Ah no non posso esprimere"
- Daniel, Max and Chorus
Recordings
| Year | Cast: Betly, Daniele, Max |
Conductor, Opera House and Orchestra |
Label[1] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | Susanna Rigacci, Maurizio Comencini, Roberto Scaltriti |
Bruno Rigacci, Orchestra Sinfonica dell Emilia Romagna "Arturo Toscanini" and Chorus of Teatro Rossini di Lugo |
Audio CD: Bongiovanni, Cat: GB 2091/92-2 |
| 1993 | Patrizia Pace, William Matteuzzi, Marco Chingari |
Fabrizio Maria Carminati, Orchestra of the Lombardiy Region and Chorus of the Teatro Donizetti of Bergamo, (Video recording of a performance in the Civico Teatro Gaetano Donizetti, Bergamo, 17 or 19 October) |
DVD: House of Opera, Cat: DVDCC 240 |
References
Notes
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. ISBN 052123526X ISBN 0-521-23526-X
- Ashbrook, William (1998), "Betly" in Stanley Sadie (Ed.), The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, Vol. One, p. 459. London: MacMillan Publishers, Inc. ISBN 0-333-73432-7 ISBN 1-56159-228-5
- Ashbrook, William and Sarah Hibberd (2001), in Holden, Amanda (Ed.), The New Penguin Opera Guide, New York: Penguin Putnam. ISBN 0-140-29312-4. pp. 224 - 247.
- Black, John (1982), Donizetti’s Operas in Naples, 1822—1848. London: The Donizetti Society.
- Loewenberg, Alfred (1970). Annals of Opera, 1597-1940, 2nd edition. Rowman and Littlefield
- Osborne, Charles, (1994), The Bel Canto Operas of Rossini, Donizetti, and Bellini, Portland, Oregon: Amadeus Press. ISBN 0931340713
- Sadie, Stanley, (Ed.); John Tyrell (Exec. Ed.) (2004), The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. 2nd edition. London: Macmillan. ISBN 978-0195170672 (hardcover). ISBN 0195170679 OCLC 419285866 (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. ISBN 63-13703
External links
- Donizetti Society (London) website
- Libretto (Italian)