Summary
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 | |
| Librettist | Pietro Salatino |
| Language | Italian |
| Premiere | 4 November 1832 Teatro San Carlo, Naples |
Roles edit
| 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 edit
- Place: Castile, Spain
- Time: The Middle Ages
Sancia, Queen of Castile,[a] 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 edit
| 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 edit
- ^ 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.
Further reading edit
- 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
External links edit
- Sancia di Castiglia: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- Donizetti Society (London) website
