Gaetano Donizetti
Gaetano Donizetti was among the most important composers of bel canto opera in both Italian and French in the first half of the 19th century. Many of his more than 60 operas are still part of the modern repertoire and continue to challenge singers with their musical and technical demands. Donizetti stands stylistically between Rossini and Verdi; his scenes are usually more expanded in structure than those of Rossini, but he never blurred the lines between set pieces and recitative as Verdi did in his middle-period and late works. Often compared to his contemporary Bellini, Donizetti produced a wider variety of operas and showed a greater stylistic flexibility, even if he never quite achieved the sheer beauty of Bellini's greatest works.
Donizetti was educated in Bergamo, Italy, the town of his birth, studying with the opera composer Simon Mayr from 1806 to 1814. His youthful works include chamber operas, religious works, and some chamber music. Donizetti's first opera of note was La Zingara, which was premiered in Naples in 1822. He continued to work in Naples throughout the 1820s and 1830s, where he was active as both a conductor and composer. In 1830, Donizetti finally achieved international fame with his opera Anna Bolena; notable for its expressive music and more extended scenes, it established Donizetti as one of the leading contemporary opera composers. The comic opera L'elisir d'amore (1832) and the tragic Lucrezia Borgia (1833) came shortly after. His next work was Maria Stuarda, followed the same year by Lucia di Lammermoor (1835), which became an internationally recognized masterpiece. The Elizabethan tragedy Roberto Devereux (1837) completed his trilogy of operas that chronicle the English court from Henry VIII to Elizabeth I.
Donizetti's operas from the late 1830s were unable to match the success of Lucia, and he was often frustrated by the royal censors. When he was passed over for the directorship of the Naples Conservatory in 1840, he moved to Paris. There he composed the opera comique La fille du Régiment (1840), which was celebrated immediately for its charm and virtuosity. Later that year, he completed La favorite (1840), another major contribution to the French repertoire. In 1842 Donizetti was appointed kapellmeister of the Austrian court in Vienna, but he retained his association with Paris, traveling between the two cities and Italy several times.
Among Donizetti's last operas are Maria di Rohan (1843), an important historic opera, and his French tragedy Dom Sébastian (1843). Caterina Cornaro (1843) is also one of his finest works for its strong dramatic content. These late operas, although rarely performed, are serious works that set the standard for Verdi. Around the time of these operas, the effects of Donizetti's syphilis infection, with which he had suffered since the late 1820s, started taking a real toll on his health. He was confined to an institution outside of Paris in early 1846, but released to friends who moved him back to Bergamo in the fall of 1847. He died in April 1848, and although initially buried in the Bergamo cemetery, his remains were later moved to the Santa Maria Maggiore Cathedral along with those of his teacher, Mayr.
© Steven Coburn /TiVo
Artistas semelhantes
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Opera dinner
Giuseppe Verdi, Giacomo Puccini, Gaetano Donizetti
Classical - Lançado por UME - Global Clearing House em 5 de mar. de 2021
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Rossini & Donizetti: Sonatas and String Quartets
Gaetano Donizetti, I Solisti Italiani, Gioachino Rossini
Classical - Lançado por Denon em 1 de jan. de 1987
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Donizetti: Essential Recordings
Classical - Lançado por UME - Global Clearing House em 26 de nov. de 2022
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GRANDI VOCI - JOAN SUTHERLAND - VERDI, DONIZETTI E L'OPERA ITALIANA Una collana dedicata con registrazioni originali Decca e Deutsche Grammophon rimasterizzate con le tecniche più moderne che ne garantiscono eccellenza tecnica e artistica
Dame Joan Sutherland, Giuseppe Verdi, Gaetano Donizetti
Classical - Lançado por UME - Global Clearing House em 2 de abr. de 2021
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GRANDI VOCI - RENATA TEBALDI - Canzoni italiane, canzoni napoletane, arie sacre e canti di Natale Una collana con registrazioni originali Decca e Deutsche Grammophon rimasterizzate con tecniche moderne che ne garantiscono eccellenza tecnica e artistica
Renata Tebaldi, Johannes Brahms, Gaetano Donizetti
Classical - Lançado por UME - Global Clearing House em 2 de abr. de 2021
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Coros Famoso de Ópera
Orchestra del Teatro dell'Opera Italiana
Classical - Lançado por ClassicalPirosDigital em 28 de out. de 2015
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Italian String Quartets
Chamber Music - Lançado por Claves Records em 1 de jan. de 1993
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Donizetti: L'elisir d'amore
Hilde Güden, Giuseppe Di Stefano, Fernando Corena
Opera - Lançado por Urania em 1 de jan. de 2006
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Donizetti: An Introduction
Classical - Lançado por UME - Global Clearing House em 27 de jun. de 2020
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Autumnal Donizetti
Classical - Lançado por UME - Global Clearing House em 10 de out. de 2020
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Tito Ruffo (Recorded 1907 - 1926)
Tita Ruffo, Beniamino Gigli, Enrico Caruso
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Lançado por Prima Voce em 1 de jan. de 1990
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Gaetano Donizetti: Rita [The Beaten Husband] (Opéra Comique in One Act) (1960)
Opera - Lançado por Classical Moments em 20 de mar. de 2013
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Donizetti: Alahor In Granata
Classical - Lançado por Almaviva em 1 de jan. de 1999
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Lucia di Lammermoor
Opera - Lançado por Opera d'Oro em 11 de abr. de 2006
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La Figlia Del Reggimento
The Royal Philharmonic Of Vienna
Opera - Lançado por Bela Records em 26 de abr. de 2010
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La fille du regiment
Opera - Lançado por Opera d'Oro em 26 de abr. de 2005
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Grandi Voci – Mario del Monaco canta Verdi, Donizetti e Bellini- Una collana con registrazioni originali Decca e Deutsche Grammophon rimasterizzate con le tecniche più moderne che ne garantiscono eccellenza tecnica e artistica.
Giuseppe Verdi, Gaetano Donizetti
Classical - Lançado por UME - Global Clearing House em 5 de mar. de 2021
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Subway Lounge
Electronic - Lançado por Svensk Musikindustri em 27 de fev. de 2024
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Donizetti: Lucia di Lammermoor
Maria Callas, Tito Gobbi, Giuseppe Di Stefano
Opera - Lançado por Past Classics em 1 de mar. de 2013
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Opera - La Figlia Del Reggimento
Opera - Lançado por Digital Natives em 16 de jan. de 2009
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Donizetti: Don Pasquale, Vol. 2
Opera - Lançado por Musirama em 9 de mar. de 2015
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