Il giovedì grasso

Il giovedì grasso is a farsa in one act by Gaetano Donizetti, from a libretto by Domenico Gilardoni. The literal translation of the title is "Fat Thursday", a reference to Carnival celebration. The libretto was adapted from the French comedies Monsieur de Pourceaugnac by Molière and Le nouveau Pourceaugnac by Charles-Gaspard Delestre-Poirson and Eugène Scribe. The opera uses spoken dialogue rather than recitatives, and the buffo role is given in the Neapolitan language. The work premiered at the Teatro del Fondo in Naples on 26 February 1829.

Il giovedì grasso
Farsa by Gaetano Donizetti
The young composer
LibrettistDomenico Gilardoni
LanguageItalian
Based onFrench comedies
Premiere
26 February 1829 (1829-02-26)
Teatro del Fondo, Naples

Roles
Role Voice type Premiere Cast, 26 February 1829
(Conductor: )
Ernesto Rousignac tenor Giovanni Battista Rubini
Stefanina soprano Rosalinda Grossi
Nina contralto Adelaide Comelli-Rubini
Sigismondo bass Luigi Lablache
The Colonel baritone Giovanni Battista Campagnoli
Teodoro tenor Giovanni Arrigotti
Camilla mezzo-soprano Maria Carraro
Cola bass Giovanni Pace

Synopsis
Time: 17th century
Place: "A house in the country, outside Paris"[1]

The lovers Nina and Teodoro are in despair since Nina is promised to another man, Ernesto. Their friend Sigismondo (who is mistakenly jealous of his wife Camilla) concocts a scheme to help the lovers. Inspired by Molière's Monsieur de Pourceaugnac, Sigismondo proposes that he and his wife will dress up as on "Fat Thursday". Then they will play tricks on Ernesto, whom they believe to be a mere simpleton, so that he will flee in confusion. Sigismondo will pose as a friend from Ernesto's past, and Camilla, as a former lover betrayed by Ernesto. When Ernesto arrives, he happens to learn of the scheme, and decides to turn the tables on the others. Pretending to be deceived, he treats Sigismondo as an old friend and treats Camilla as his former lover, which confirms Sigismondo in his misplaced suspicions. Only when Nina's father the Colonel is back does Ernesto confess to everyone that he, the supposed simpleton, has outwitted them. Ernesto consents to the wedding of Nina and Teodoro, Sigismondo promises never to be jealous again, and all praise the carnival season.

Recordings
Year Cast
(The Colonel,
Nina,
Teodoro,
Sigismondo)		 Conductor,
Opera House and Orchestra		 Label[2]
1970 Federico Davià,
Jill Gomez,
Malcolm Williams,
Elfego Esparza		 David Atherton,
Radio Teflis Éireann Symphony Orchestra
(A recording of a performance at the Wexford Festival)		 Audio CD: Foyer
Cat: 1-CF 2036,
Memories
Cat: HR 4482
1971 Saturno Meletti,
Mariella Devia,
Antonio Bevacqua,
Giorgio Gatti		 Ottavio Ziino,
Orchestra Aidem di Firenze		 33rpm LP: Voce
Cat: 110

1961 James Loomis (bass), Bruna Rizzoli (sop), Rodolfo Malacarne (ten), Nestore Catalani (bar), Orchestra della Radiotelevisione della Svizzera Italiana (Edwin Loehrer) Audio CD Nuovo Era (Membran) 232585 (released 2009)

References

Notes

  1. Osborne 1994, p. 181
  2. Source for recording information: Recording(s) of Il giovedì grasso on operadis-opera-discography.org.uk

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 0-521-23526-X
  • Ashbrook, William (1998), "Donizetti, Gaetano" in Stanley Sadie (Ed.), The New Grove Dictionary of Opera, Vol. One. 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 0-14-029312-4. 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 0-931340-71-3
  • Sadie, Stanley, (Ed.); John Tyrell (Exec. Ed.) (2004), The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. 2nd edition. London: Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-19-517067-2 (hardcover). ISBN 0-19-517067-9 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. LCCN 63-13703
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