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Biography
Other people|Donizetti|Donizetti (surname)No footnotes|date=December 2011Use dmy dates|date=August 2011 Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (IPA-it|do'me?niko gae'ta?no ma'?ia doni'dzetti; 29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian composer from Bergamo , Lombardy. His best-known works are the operas '' L'elisir d'amore (1832), Lucia di Lammermoor (1835), and Don Pasquale (1843), all in Italian, and the French operas La favorite and La fille du régiment (both from 1840). Along with Vincenzo Bellini and Gioachino Rossini , he was a leading composer of bel canto opera.
Biography
The youngest of three sons, Donizetti was born in 1797 in Bergamo's Borgo Canale quarter located just outside the city walls. His family was very poor with no tradition of music, his father being the caretaker of the town pawnshop. Nevertheless, Donizetti received some musical instruction from Simon Mayr , a German composer of internationally successful operas who had become maestro di cappella at Bergamo's principal church in 1802.
Donizetti was not especially successful as a choirboy, but in 1806 he was one of the first pupils to be enrolled at the Lezioni Caritatevoli school, founded by Mayr, in Bergamo through a full scholarship. He received detailed training in the arts of fugue and counterpoint , and it was here that he launched his operatic career. After some minor compositions under the commission of :fr:Paolo Zancla|Paolo Zancla , Donizetti wrote his ninth opera, Zoraida di Granata . This work impressed Domenico Barbaia , a prominent theatre manager, and Donizetti was offered a contract to compose in Naples . Writing in Rome and Milan in addition to Naples, Donizetti achieved some popular success in the 1820s (although critics were often unimpressed), but was not well known internationally until 1830, when his Anna Bolena was premiered in Milan. He almost instantly became famous throughout Europe. '' L'elisir d'amore , a comedy produced in 1832, came soon after, and is deemed one of the masterpieces of 19th-century opera buffa (as is his Don Pasquale , written for Paris in 1843). Shortly after L'elisir d'amore , Donizetti composed Lucia di Lammermoor , based on the Sir Walter Scott novel The Bride of Lammermoor ''. It became his most famous opera, and one of the high points of the bel canto tradition, reaching stature similar to Vincenzo Bellini|Bellini 's Norma (opera)|Norma .
After the success of Lucrezia Borgia (opera)|Lucrezia Borgia (1833) consolidated his reputation, Donizetti followed the paths of both Gioachino Rossini|Rossini and Bellini by visiting Paris, but his opera Marino Faliero (opera)| Marin Faliero suffered by comparison with Bellini's I puritani , and he returned to Naples to produce his already-mentioned masterpiece, Lucia di Lammermoor . As Donizetti's fame grew, so did his engagements, as he was further hired to write in both France and Italy. In 1838, he moved to Paris after the Italian censor objected to the production of Poliuto (on the grounds that such a sacred subject was inappropriate for the stage); there he wrote La fille du régiment , which became another success.
As a conductor, he led the premiere of Rossini's Stabat Mater (Rossini)|Stabat Mater .
Donizetti's wife, Virginia Vasselli, gave birth to three children, none of whom survived. Within a year of his parents' deaths, his wife, on 30 July 1837, died from cholera . By 1843, Donizetti exhibited symptoms of syphilis and probable bipolar disorder . After being institutionalized in 1845, he was sent to Paris, where he could be cared for. After visits from friends, including Giuseppe Verdi , Donizetti was sent back to Bergamo, his hometown. After several years in the grip of insanity, he died in 1848 in the house of the noble family Scotti. After his death Donizetti was buried in the cemetery of Valtesse but in the late 19th century his body was transferred to Bergamo's Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore (Bergamo)|Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore near the grave of his teacher Simon Mayr.
Donizetti is best known for his operatic works, but he also wrote music in a number of other forms, including some church music, a number of string quartet s, and some orchestral works.
He was the younger brother of Giuseppe Donizetti , who had become, in 1828, Instructor General of the Imperial Ottoman Empire|Ottoman Music at the court of Sultan Mahmud II (1808–1839).
Works
Donizetti was a prolific composer. He composed about 75 operas, 16 symphonies, 19 string quartets, 193 songs, 45 duets, 3 oratorios, 28 cantatas, instrumental concertos, sonatas, and other chamber pieces.
Operas
1816–1819
Il Pigmalione (Donizetti)|Il Pigmalione (written 1816; premiere: 13 October 1960, Teatro Donizetti , Bergamo )
Olimpiade (Donizetti)|Olimpiade (1817, incomplete, libretto by Metastasio )
'' L'ira di Achille (1817)
Enrico di Borgogna (14 November 1818, Teatro San Luca, Venice )
Una follia (17 December 1818, Teatro San Luca, Venice ) (lost)
I piccioli virtuosi ambulanti (1819), opera buffa in one act
Pietro il Grande zar di tutte le Russie ossia Il Falegname di Livonia (26 December 1819, Teatro San Samuele , Venice),
1820–1824
Le nozze in villa (1820; 1821? Teatro Vecchio, Mantua )
Zoraida di Granata (Donizetti)|Zoraida di Granata or Zoraïda di Granata (28 January 1822, Teatro Argentina , Rome, rev. 7 January 1824 at the same theatre)
La Zingara (Donizetti)|La Zingara (12 May 1822, Teatro Nuovo, Naples )
La lettera anonima (29 June 1822, Teatro del Fondo , Naples )
Chiara e Serafina, ossia I pirati (26 October 1822, Teatro alla Scala , Milan)
Alfredo il grande (2 July 1823, Teatro San Carlo, Naples )
Il fortunato inganno (3 September 1823, Teatro Nuovo, Naples )
'' L'ajo nell'imbarazzo (4 February 1824, Teatro Valle, Rome)
Emilia di Liverpool (''L'eremitaggio di Liverpool ) (28 July 1824, Teatro Nuovo, Naples)
1825–1829
Alahor in Granata (7 January 1826 Teatro Carolino, Palermo)
Don Gregorio (opera)|Don Gregorio rev of ''L'ajo nell'imbarazzo (11 June 1826, Teatro Nuovo, Naples)
Elvida (6 July 1826, Teatro San Carlo, Naples)
Gabriella di Vergy (written: 1826; premiere: 29 November 1869, Teatro San Carlo, Naples) (Gabriella)
Olivo e Pasquale (7 January 1827 Teatro Valle, Rome)
Olivo e Pasquale rev (1 September 1827, Teatro Nuovo, Naples)
Otto mesi in due ore (13 May 1827, Teatro Nuovo, Naples) (Gli esiliati in Siberia)
Il borgomastro di Saardam (19 August 1827, Teatro del Fondo, Naples)
Le convenienze ed inconvenienze teatrali , also known as Viva la mamma (21 November 1827, Teatro Nuovo, Naples)
'' L'esule di Roma, ossia Il proscritto (1 January 1828, Teatro San Carlo, Naples)
Emilia di Liverpool rev (8 March 1828, Teatro Nuovo, Naples)
Alina, regina di Golconda (12 May 1828, Teatro Carlo Felice, Genoa)
Gianni di Calais (2 August 1828, Teatro del Fondo, Naples)
Il paria (12 January 1829, Teatro San Carlo, Naples)
Il giovedi grasso ( Il nuovo Pourceaugnac ) (26 February 1829? , Teatro del Fondo, Naples)
Il castello di Kenilworth (6 July 1829, Teatro San Carlo, Naples)
Alina, regina di Golconda rev (10 October 1829, Teatro Valle, Rome)
1830–1834
I pazzi per progetto (6 February 1830, Teatro San Carlo, Naples)
Il diluvio universale (28 February 1830, Teatro San Carlo, Naples)
'' Imelda de' Lambertazzi (5 September 1830, Teatro San Carlo, Naples)
Anna Bolena (26 December 1830, Teatro Carcano, Milan)
Le convenienze ed inconvenienze teatrali rev of Le convenienze teatrali (20 April 1831, Teatro Canobbiana, Milan)
Gianni di Parigi (written: 1831; premiere: 10 September 1839, Teatro alla Scala Milan)
Francesca di Foix (30 May 1831, Teatro San Carlo, Naples)
'' La romanzesca e l'uomo nero (or La romanziera e l'uomo nero) (18 June 1831, Teatro del Fondo, Naples) (arias and ensembles survive but spoken dialogue is lost)
Fausta (opera)|Fausta (12 January 1832, Teatro San Carlo, Naples)
Ugo, conte di Parigi (13 March 1832, Teatro alla Scala Milan)
'' L'elisir d'amore (12 May 1832, Teatro Canobbiana, Milan)
Sancia di Castiglia (4 November 1832, Teatro San Carlo, Naples)
'' Il furioso all'isola di San Domingo (2 January 1833, Teatro Valle, Rome)
Otto mesi in due ore rev (1833, Livorno)
Parisina (opera)|Parisina (17 March 1833, Teatro della Pergola , Florence)
Torquato Tasso (opera)|Torquato Tasso (9 September 1833, Teatro Valle, Rome)
Lucrezia Borgia (opera)|Lucrezia Borgia (26 December 1833, Teatro alla Scala Milan)
Il diluvio universale rev (17 January 1834, Teatro Carlo Felice, Genoa)
'' Rosmonda d'Inghilterra (27 February 1834, Teatro della Pergola, Florence)
Maria Stuarda rev ( lang|it|Buondelmonte ) (18 October 1834, Teatro San Carlo, Naples)
Gemma di Vergy (26 October 1834, Teatro alla Scala Milan)
1835–1839
Maria Stuarda (30 December 1835, Teatro alla Scala Milan)
Marin Faliero (12 March 1835, Théâtre-Italien, Paris)
Lucia di Lammermoor (26 September 1835, Teatro San Carlo, Naples)
Belisario (4 February 1836, Teatro La Fenice, Venice)
Il campanello di notte (1 June 1836, Teatro Nuovo, Naples)
Betly|Betly, o La capanna svizzera (21 August 1836, Teatro Nuovo, Naples)
'' L'assedio di Calais (19 November 1836, Teatro San Carlo, Naples)
'' Pia de' Tolomei (18 February 1837, Teatro Apollo, Venice)
''Pia de' Tolomei rev (31 July 1837, Sinigaglia)
Betly rev ((? ) 29 September 1837, Teatro del Fondo, Naples)
Roberto Devereux (28 October 1837, Teatro San Carlo, Naples)
Maria de Rudenz (30 January 1838, Teatro La Fenice, Venice)
Gabriella di Vergy rev (written: 1838; August 1978 recording, London)
Poliuto (written: 1838; premiere: 30 November 1848, Teatro San Carlo, Naples)
'' Pia de' Tolomei rev 2 (30 September 1838, Teatro San Carlo, Naples)
Lucie de Lammermoor rev of Lucia di Lammermoor (6 August 1839, Théâtre de la Renaissance, Paris)
'' Le duc d'Albe (written: 1839; premiere: 22 March 1882, Teatro Apollo, Rome) (Il duca d'Alba)
1840–1845
Lucrezia Borgia (opera)|Lucrezia Borgia rev (11 January 1840, Teatro alla Scala Milan)
Poliuto rev ( Les martyrs ) (10 April 1840, Paris Opera ( Salle Le Peletier )
La fille du régiment (11 February 1840, Opéra-Comique, Paris)
'' L'ange de Nisida (1839; ? )
Lucrezia Borgia rev 2 (31 October 1840, Théâtre-Italien, Paris)
La favorite rev of ''L'ange de Nisida (2 December 1840, Paris Opera (Salle Le Peletier)
Adelia (opera)|Adelia (11 February 1841, Teatro Apollo, Rome)
Rita (opera)|Rita ( Deux hommes et une femme ) (written: 1841; premiere: 7 May 1860, Opéra-Comique, Paris)
Maria Padilla (26 December 1841, Teatro alla Scala Milan)
Linda di Chamounix (19 May 1842, Kärntnertortheater, Vienna)
Linda di Chamounix rev (17 November 1842, Théâtre-Italien, Paris)
Caterina Cornaro (opera)|Caterina Cornaro (18 January 1844, Teatro San Carlo, Naples)
Don Pasquale (3 January 1843, Théâtre-Italien, Paris)
Maria di Rohan (5 June 1843, Kärntnertortheater, Vienna)
Dom Sébastien (13 November 1843, Paris Opera (Salle Le Peletier)
Dom Sébastien rev (6 February 1845, Kärntnertortheater, Vienna)
Larghetto for Piano in A minor " Una furtiva lagrima "
Larghetto for Piano in C major
Pastorale for Piano in E major
Presto for Piano in F minor
Sinfonia for Piano in A major
Sinfonia for Piano no 1 in C major
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Sinfonia for Piano no 1 in D major
Sinfonia for Piano no 2 in C major
Sinfonia for Piano no 2 in D major
Sonata for Piano in C major
Sonata for Piano in F major
Sonata for Piano in G major
Variations for Piano in E major
Variations for Piano in G major
Waltz for Piano in A major
Waltz for Piano in C major
Waltz for Piano in C major "The Invitation"
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Media
listen| filename = Enrico Caruso, L'elisir d'amore, Una furtiva lagrima.ogg | title = "Una furtiva lagrima" | description = " Una furtiva lagrima " from '' L'elisir d'amore . Sung by Enrico Caruso in 1911 for the Victor Talking Machine Company . | filename2 = Prelude to Lucia di Lammermoor.ogg | title2 = Prelude to Lucia di Lammermoor | description2 = | format2 = Ogg | filename3 = Donizetti - Le beau vingt-et-unième (extrait de la Fille du régiment) - Atelier Vocal des Herbiers ( petit ensemble Amarante) - juin 2000 .ogg | title3 = Le beau vingt-et-unième | description3 = from Donizetti's opera La fille du régiment , performed by Atelier Vocal des Herbiers | format3 = ogg
Quotations
"Ah, by Bacchus, with this aria I shall receive universal applause. People will say to me, “Bravo maestro!”
:I, in a very modest manner, shall walk about with bowed head; I’ll have rave reviews…I can become immortal… :My mind is vast, my genius swift... :And at composing, a thunderbolt am I." ::(From a poem composed by 14-year-old Gaetano Donizetti)
"Donizetti, when asked which of his own operas he thought the best, spontaneously replied, 'How can I say which? A father always has a preference for a crippled child, and I have so many.'" (Louis Engel: "From Mozart to Mario", 1886)
References
;Sources Refimprove|date=November 2007
Allitt, John Stewart, Gaetano Donizetti – Pensiero, musica, opere scelte , Milano: Edizione Villadiseriane, 2003
Allitt, John Stewart, Donizetti – in the light of romanticism and the teaching of Johann Simon Mayr , Shaftesbury, Dorset, UK: Element Books, 1991. Also see Allitt's website http://www.johnstewartallitt.com/
William Ashbrook|Ashbrook, William : Donizetti and his Operas , Cambridge:Cambridge University Press 1982. Ashbrook also wrote an earlier life entitled Donizetti in 1965.
Bini, Annalisa and Jeremy Commons, Le prime rappresentazioni delle opere di Donizetti nella stampa coeva , Milan: Skira, 1997
Black, John, ''Donizetti's Operas in Naples 1822–1848 , London: The Donizetti Society, 1982
Cassaro, James P., Gaetano Donizetti – A Guide to Research , New York: Garland Publishing. 2000
Philip Gossett|Gossett, Philip , "Anna Bolena" and the Artistic Maturity of Gaetano Donizetti , Oxford : Oxford University Press , 1985
Kantner, Leopold M (Ed.), Donizetti in Wien , papers from a symposium in various languages (ISBN 3-7069-0006-8 / ISSN 156,00-8921). Published by Primo Ottocento, available from Edition Praesens.
Keller, Marcello Sorce, "Gaetano Donizetti: un bergamasco compositore di canzoni napoletane", Studi Donizettiani , III(1978), 100- 107.
Keller, Marcello Sorce, "Io te voglio bene assaje: a Famous Neapolitan Song Traditionally Attributed to Gaetano Donizetti", The Music Review , XLV (1984), no. 3- 4, 251- 264. Also published as: "Io te voglio bene assaje: una famosa canzone napoletana tradizionalmente attribuita a Gaetano Donizetti, La Nuova Rivista Musicale Italiana , 1985, no. 4, 642- 653.
Minden, Pieter (Ed.): Gaetano Donizetti (1797-1848): Scarsa Mercè Saranno. Duett für Alt und Tenor mit Klavierbegleitung Partitur. Mit dem Faksimile des Autographs von 1815 . Tübingen : Noûs-Verlag, 1999. - 18 pp., 13 fol.; ISBN 3-924249-25-3. Caesar vs. Cleopatra.
Stanley Sadie|Sadie, Stanley (Ed.), The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians , Volume 7, London: Macmillan Publishers Ltd., 2001, pp.& nbsp;761–796. The 1980 edition article, by William Ashbrook and Julian Budden , was also reprinted in The New Grove Masters of Italian Opera , London: Papermac, 1984, pp.& nbsp;93–154.
Sadie, Stanley (Ed.), The New Grove Dictionary of Opera , Volume 1, London: Macmillan Publishers Ltd., 1997, pp.& nbsp;1201–1221.
Saracino, Egidio (Ed.), Tutti I libretti di Donizetti , Garzanti Editore, 1993.
Weinstock, Herbert, Donizetti and the World of Opera in Italy, Paris and Vienna in the First Half of the Nineteenth Century , New York: Random House, 1963.
http://cylinders.library.ucsb.edu/search.php? query=donizetti Donizetti cylinder recordings, from the Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara Library.
Persondata|NAME=Donizetti, Gaetano |ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Donizetti, Domenico Gaetano Maria |SHORT DESCRIPTION=Italian opera composer |DATE OF BIRTH=29 November 1797 |PLACE OF BIRTH=Bergamo, Italy |DATE OF DEATH=8 April 1848 |PLACE OF DEATH=Bergamo, Italy DEFAULTSORT:Donizetti, Gaetano Category:1797 births Category:1848 deaths Category:People from Bergamo Category:Opera composers Category:Romantic composers Category:Italian composers Category:People with bipolar disorder Category:Compositions by Gaetano Donizetti