Sancia di Castiglia

Sancia di Castiglia is an Italian opera seria in two acts by Gaetano Donizetti to a libretto by Pietro Salatino. It was first performed at the Teatro San Carlo in Naples on 4 November 1832, conducted by Nicola Festa.

Sancia di Castiglia
Opera seria by Gaetano Donizetti
Gaetano Donizetti c. 1835
LibrettistPietro Salatino
LanguageItalian
Premiere
4 November 1832 (1832-11-04)
Teatro San Carlo, Naples

Roles
Roles, voice types, premiere cast
Role Voice type Premiere cast, 4 November 1832[1]
Conductor: Nicola Festa
Sancia soprano Giuseppina Ronzi de Begnis
Garzia, her son mezzo-soprano Diomilla Santolini
Ircano bass Luigi Lablache
Rodrigo tenor Giovanni Basadonna
Elvira soprano Edvige Ricci

Synopsis
Place: Castile, Spain
Time: The Middle Ages

Sancia, Queen of Castile,[lower-alpha 1] whose husband has been killed in battle, also believes that her son, Garcia, has been killed. She plans to marry the Saracen prince, Ircano, against the advice of her minister, Rodrigo. When Garcia, having survived an assassination attempt instigated by Ircano, reappears to claim the throne, Ircano tells Sancia that he will marry her only if she poisons her son. Garcia is about to drink from the poisoned goblet when a suddenly repentant Sancia snatches it and drinks it herself. She dies pleading for her son's forgiveness.

Recordings
Year Cast: Sancia,
Ircano,
Rodrigo		 Conductor,
opera house and orchestra		 Label[2]
1992 Montserrat Caballé,
Boris Martinovich,
José Sempere		 José M. Collado,
Coro del Teatro Lírico Nacional. Orquesta Sinfónica de Madrid
(Recording of a concert performance in the Teatro de la Zarzuela, Madrid, 9 February)		 CD: House of Opera
Cat: CD 192

Notes and references
  1. There were two Queens Sancha of Castile, and Sancha of León had a son García II of Galicia, but the plot is unrelated to those.
  1. Casaglia, Gherardo (2005)."Sancia di Castiglia, 4 November 1832". L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia (in Italian).
  2. Source for recording information: operadis-opera-discography.org.uk

Further reading
  • Allitt, John Stewart (1991), Donizetti: In the Light of Romanticism and the Teaching of Johann Simon Mayr, Shaftesbury: Element Books, Ltd (UK); Rockport, Massachusetts: 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. 1. London: Macmillan 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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